The Clue in the Diary
by Third Person Point of View
Summary: An updated version of one of my favorite Nancy Drew books. Ned comes into this one. This is a NDxNN story. Explicit language and mature content. Read at your own discretion.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. This is based on the original series written by Carolyn Keene who was smart enough to make the whole thing up.

Chapter 01

"Whoo! Thank God for long weekends, huh?"

George Fayne whooped happily from the front seat of her best friend's vintage convertible. She futilely tried to brush the short strands of black hair from her pretty face. She liked her boy's name and took pride in it. George had always been a tomboy and would always remain a tomboy. She was eighteen, thin and athletically built, outspoken, courageous, and utterly sarcastic. With George, what you saw is what you got. She grinned rebelliously as her hair whipped forward again.

Nancy Drew, the owner of the blue vintage hot rod, smiled and shook her head. Her own shoulder length strawberry-blond hair was held back by a head band. Nancy was also eighteen, slim and attractive. She had bright blue eyes and a gorgeous smile that knocked boys off their feet. She was a responsible girl, something George used against her whenever she accused Nancy of acting too old for her age.

"Well," Nancy said. "You don't have to sound so excited to be out of school."

"No, you have to be _more_ excited to be out of school," George prompted, giving her friend an exasperated look. "Jesus, it's almost like you like it there."

"I like it there," Bess Marvin spoke up from the back seat.

Bess was blond and pretty, George's cousin. Her hair was long and wrapped into a ponytail. She had clear, powder-blue eyes and a beautiful face. Bess, although extremely good-looking, had a lot of hang ups. She was constantly checking on her hair and makeup. At the moment she was making sure to hold down her hair so it wouldn't get puffy and tangled. She was also eighteen, though the youngest of the three, and was an obsessive dieter, even though she was terrible at it.

"I'm going to miss it," she said, looking out at the gorgeous scenery passing by.

George snorted rudely. "You would."

"Oh, come on, like you aren't?" her cousin retorted.

"Yeah," Nancy added. "What about volleyball?"

"Ah, volleyball. There'll be volleyball in college a couple of months from now. But, for the meantime, I plan to waste away in front of my TV set and enjoy my summer before I head off to a higher education," George said, ending in a mocking tone. She looked at Nancy who was staring blankly ahead of her, her brow furrowed. "What are you so worried about?"

"What?" Nancy replied, snapping out of her trance. "Sorry, just thinking about that little girl at the carnival this morning."

"Poor girl," Bess murmured, curling the end of her ponytail around her finger.

"Yeah, I mean, who names their kid Honey anyway?" George asked. "Leave it to the Swedes."

"You jerks, I'm serious," Nancy laughed. "I can't get how sad her mother was."

"I thought you said charity made you feel good inside," Bess taunted.

"Nah, that was Bobby Ridgeway," George put in and Nancy slapped her arm with a laugh.

"It does, but she didn't like us paying for everything. She let us do it because of her daughter. I just can't believe that girl's dad would just take off like that after promising to send them money."

"People skip out on their families all the time," George said.

"Yeah, but these Swenson's seemed pretty old school, I get a feeling that a guy who brought up a family like that wouldn't just bail. I wish I could do something."

"Well, we can try to help out Mrs. Swenson and the girl until some word comes around. There's volunteer work for you, Nance," Bess suggested

"Yeah, I guess," Nancy sighed and the girls feel into a comfortable silence as they drove back to their home town, River Heights.

"Man, it's really nice out here, huh?" George said after a while. "Those are some beautiful, big houses."

"Big is an understatement," Nancy said.

"Mostly country estates," Bess sighed. "Oh, look! Isn't that one gorgeous? If I had to pick any, it'd be that one. I love to live in it. Wonder who owns it?"

Nancy opened her mouth to reply, glancing at the white country mansion, but didn't get a chance to say anything. A huge explosion rang out suddenly from the house and it burst into flames. Glorious tongues of fire lapped at the sides of the house through the shattered windows.

"Holy shit!" George cursed, cringing as the house seemed to explode outward. "What the hell was that?"

"What happened?" Bess asked, dumbfounded and staring.

"There could be someone stuck inside," Nancy said, her mouth set into a grim, hard line. She spun the car around violently and roared off towards the driveway of the house. It was set back far from the road.

"Are you freaking nuts?!" Bess asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go help, what does it look like?" Nancy snapped.

"What could you possibly do to help? Call 911 for Christ's sake and let them deal with it!"

"By the time they get here, it'll be too late!"

"Nancy's right. Stop being such a coward, Bess," George yelled back at her cousin.

Nancy squealed to a stop some distance from the fire and turned to look at her scared friend in the back seat. "Bess, call 911 and tell them to get the hell out here, now!"

Nancy jumped out of the car, George following and slamming the door shut as Bess dialed frantically, hands shaking. Nancy and George ran towards the front door and were struck by a wave of thick smoke. Coughing and hacking, they waved the smog away and raced forward. There was a blast of heat as they neared the front door. The girls reeled back.

"How are we going to get in?" George wheezed. "And if we get in, how are we going to get anyone out?"

"Well, we can't get in through the front, there's too much smoke and we'll choke."

"Crap! What do we do?"

Nancy thought for a minute. "Look, you go back to the car with Bess. Move it back towards the road a bit, for all we know it could get crushed pretty soon. I'm going to go around the back."

"Yeah… right," George stammered, somewhat dazed.

"George, look at me. Go!"

George nodded faintly , then turned and raced towards Bess and the car. Nancy stumbled out of the smoky air, coughing, and sprinted around the side of the house. The smoke was clearing up and her vision wasn't as blurry. She stopped suddenly as she saw a man about to crawl through the back bushes, running from the burning house.

"Thank God," she murmured to herself. "Sir! You okay? Did you come from inside the house?"

The man seemed to hear her, but he turned his head to look back as something crashed inside the house. He was in his late thirties, early forties, blond and ruddy with a square, defined jaw line. His eyes were hazel and she could have sworn she saw them before. He cringed from the house, glanced around, but still didn't see her, and barged through the bushes to disappear.

He wasn't hurt or burned from what Nancy saw and he was running _from_ the house, not to it. Could he …? Nancy shook the thought away and focused on the bigger picture. She stopped again as she heard sirens screeching to the front of the house and men yelling suddenly. She raced back to the front of the house.

George and Bess where explaining to an official waving at the house. Neighbors from the surrounding houses had begun to flood in and even the small amount of traffic was piling around the driveway to get a good look. Police officers were soon set up to direct the traffic away, but a huge jam was created already. Firemen worked fast to contain the flames, though they couldn't save anything. The neighbors were all conspiring amongst themselves.

"What happened?" one of the braver spectators asked Bess and George.

Bess shrugged, slightly hysterical. "I don't know, it just… exploded! God, I hope no one's in that hellhole."

The woman shook her head. "I doubt it. The Raybolt's haven't been here all summer, so I'm guessing no one is inside."

"I hope not," Nancy said, watching the action.

"Watch it!"

"BACK UP!"

"The roof is caving!"

There were shrieks and yells as the roof collapsed inward and a shower of sparks flitted towards the ground. A gigantic cloud of smoke eclipsed their sight and had everyone coughing. Nancy blindly stumbled out of it, knocking into something hard.

"Shit!" she cursed, and rubbed her eyes to look. She kicked the side of the empty dog house. She had semi-circled around the house and as she was about to turn back, stopped. She bent and picked up a small, leather-bound book. It must have been dropped recently because it was still in good condition and it had poured the night before. She turned it over in her hands and jumped back as another shower of sparks rained down. She stuck the book into her pocket and ran to the front of the house again.

"George? Bess? George!" Nancy called, but the cousin's had disappeared. She made her way through the crowd of people, tiptoeing to get a better view over the people's heads.

"Huh," Nancy overheard one of the neighbors snort. "Raybolt's going to have a fit when he finds out his house burned down."

"That's for sure," another responded, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, he and his oh so charming wife will get over it. Those assholes are rolling in money. Can you believe what a stuck up prima Donna that woman was?"

"Tell me about it. That couple was never very friendly. If you ask me, the skeezeball deserved it."

"You can say that again."

Nancy had listened interestedly to the conversation and was brought out of her racing thoughts as an ember passed extremely close to her face and landed on the grass. She stamped it out before it could do any damage.

"May car," she remembered suddenly and ran towards the lower part of the driveway. Maybe George and Bess were there waiting for her. She bit her lip and looked through the crowd of cars for her electric blue convertible.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. This is based on the original series written by Carolyn Keene who was smart enough to make the whole thing up.

Chapter 02

"What the hell?" Nancy said, staring shocked as she spotted it. Some guy was getting into it. From the distance she heard the engine rev and the guy began to back up. "HEY! That's my car!"

Nancy raced forward. The guy hadn't heard her and skillfully backed up, weaving through the cars that had crowded the driveway. He drove it onto the far part of the lawn and Nancy sped up. To her relief, he parked it and shut off the car, stepping out.

"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell do you think you're doing to my car?" Nancy yelled, coming to a halt in front of the guy. "You can't just-"

The guy turned to look at her then, a look of surprise on his very cute face. He looked about nineteen years old and was tall, an inch or two over 6 feet, and well-built, lean and muscular, but not overly big. He had beautiful brown eyes that were amused as they looked over her flushed, angry face. His features were defined and angular. He had thick brown hair that flopped handsomely over his forehead, swept to one side, and hung at the nape of his neck. He was holding back a smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips. He had his hands shoved into his pockets and was waiting for her to finish her sentence, which had petered out as he had looked at her.

"- just, uh…" she blinked hard. "You can't just get into other people's car, you know."

He smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I would've had a fit too, but I couldn't stand by and watch a beauty like this get destroyed. I saw the keys in the ignition and I figured I save it." He reached into the car and pulled out the keys that George had left in the ignition. He smiled again and held them out to her. "1953 Porsche 356 Roadster. She's gorgeous."

Nancy looked him over closely, still somewhat unsure. She took the keys. "Yeah, thanks. Hey, um, you didn't see two girls near the car, did you?"

He thought for a moment. "Nope. Little girls?"

Nancy laughed. "No, my age. A blond and a brunette. Probably fighting with each other."

"Blond and brunette. What are the odds? Need help finding them?"

Nancy looked him over again from the corner of her eye. She gave a small smile. "Sure, thanks."

They set off, looking over the grounds and weaving through people.

"You said fighting, right?" he asked suddenly, looking to the left of them.

"Yeah."

"Is that them?" He pointed.

Nancy looked over and saw Bess, shrieking and on the verge of hysteria, and George, absolutely pissed off and snapping at Bess. Nancy shook her head.

"Yeah, that's them. Thanks for your help," she said to him.

"No problem. Take care of your car," he said with another knee weakening smile and slipped into the crowd.

Nancy looked after him for a moment, then turned as George called out her name. She braced herself as Bess nearly tackled her in a desperate hug.

"Who was that guy?" George asked, nodding towards the spot where the boy had disappeared.

Nancy sighed. "I don't know."

"What does that mean?"

Nancy quickly explained, scratching her head. George raised her eyebrows and Bess gave Nancy a look, a smug smile on her lips.

"I think we should get out of here, we're just taking up space," Nancy said with a sigh. She led the way to the car, trying to get out before everyone else, but a traffic jam had formed.

George sighed. "Honk! That's what the horn is for." She leaned over and pressed on the horn for a long moment.

"It doesn't do any good," Bess said, annoyed.

"It does plenty good for my rage," George snapped back.

"Calm down, for God's sake, we're all stressed. Look, we're almost out anyway."

"Well, if George could just – look out!"

There was a loud crunch as someone rammed into Nancy's back fender. The girls were all jolted. Nancy looked at the others.

"You okay? Bess, you?" she asked.

The two girls nodded, shocked and still flushed with fright. Nancy took in a deep breath as she threw the car in park. She wretched open the door to her car and walked around to the back and gaped at the damage.

"Shit!" she cursed.

From the other car emerged a thin, gangly man in his late forties. He was squeezing his hands nervously.

"Don't you look where you're going?" George shouted.

Usually Nancy would have stopped her, but she was so pissed about her car, she didn't make the effort, she just glared at the jumpy little man.

"Oh my lord," he said in a trembling voice and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Oh, oh, oh, oh my. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I will pay for the repairs, I promise you."

The poor guy sounded like he was on the verge of tears and was so panicked he was pale. Nancy gave a sigh and relented. Even George let up.

"Can I get you information?" Nancy asked. "George, grab my camera and take some pictures for me, will you?"

"Yeah," George said and rifled through Nancy's purse for the camera.

The man's name was Baylor Weston and he quickly wrote down his phone number, address, and name on a sheet of paper. As he was doing this, George took some pictures of the damage.

"I need your insurance company's name, too, please," Nancy said, glancing at the paper.

"Oh, sure," Weston said, lowering the pen to the paper. He stopped, then looked up at Nancy. "I… I can't remember it. I apologize. Please, forgive me, but I swear that I will cover all your expenses. If you want to try the number I gave you, it goes right to my cell phone. Check it now if you want." He began to fumble for his phone.

"That's okay," Nancy said, stopping him. "I'll call you when I get the bill. Thanks."

"No, thank you for being so kind. The last person I ran into was an absolute horror," Weston laughed as he got into his car and drove off.

The girls watched the man disappear and George shook her head.

"That man should not drive," she said, climbing into the car with the others.

They started out on the road, the back bumper scraping noisily along the road. Nancy grimaced.

"Man, my dad's going to kill me," she moaned, pulling over to the side of the road and got out of the car to see if she could stop the noise until she could get to a garage. "This isn't even going to make it home. God damn it!"

The three girls look up as there was a honk and a flash of headlights. Another car pulled up behind them. It was a black Mustang GT convertible, nicely kept. The lights switched down and the engine was turned off. The door opened and out emerged the same guy who had helped Nancy find Bess and George. He gave a small laugh.

"So much for taking care of your car, huh?" he said, looking over the wrecked bumper hanging at a dangerous angle. He pulled a hand from his pocket and ran it through his hair. Bess's jaw fell open and George kicked her. She grunted, forced a smile, and scowled at her cousin who innocently was looking ahead. "Need some help?"

Nancy laughed, realizing she'd been wrong about him before. All suspicion crept from her mind. "Thanks. Some… guy bumped into my car."

"I can see. Real shame to see a vintage in this shape," he said, bending to take a good look. "You're going to have to get her to a garage."

"Is there one around here?"

"Yeah, about two miles up in Mapleton. It's a great place, they'll treat you really good."

"Two miles?" Nancy groaned. "I don't think I can even make two miles. The bumper is dragging-"

With a deft twist and a sharp twang, he wretched the bumper off and placed it in her back seat. Bess gave a sharp little gasp and raised her eyebrows at the ease he yanked the twisted scrap of metal from the car. "Not anymore. You should be fine."

Nancy gaped at her lack of bumper. "What…? Why would you…?"

He grinned. "Calm down, they would've had to take it off anyway. Trust me, I wouldn't do anything to damage your car, it'd be a crime. You'll make it to Mick's now." He gave her directions on how to get there, telling her to go inside and ask for Victor.

"And how do you know so much about this garage?" Nancy teased, smiling at him.

He laughed. "Because I live in Mapleton and it's the only place I trust with my car. Look, I'm going that way anyway, why don't I just follow you? You know, make sure you make it okay and everything."

Nancy smiled slowly. "Sure, I'd owe you one."

"You would owe me one," he said, mimicking her grin and looking over her face for a moment.

Nancy sobered and held out her hand. "My name is Nancy Drew, by the way. These are my friends, George Fayne and Bess Marvin. They're cousins."

"Ah, the fighting girls," he commented, shaking their hands. Bess blushed and giggled and George shot her a dark look. "I'm Ned Nickerson."

"Nice to meet you," George said with a smile.

"Right back at you. We should get going before they close for the day."

"Right. Thanks again," Nancy said.

"Thank me when we get to Mick's," Ned said as he walked back to his car and got in, waiting for Nancy to begin driving.

As they started down the road again, Bess gave a gasp, looking back at the black mustang following them.

"Oh my God," she managed out. "How hot is he?"

"Smoking," Nancy answered.

"You always have all the luck," George griped. "If I'd been near the car to see him, he'd been throwing double entendres at me, not you."

"What? What double entendres?" Nancy asked, pretending to be oblivious as she fought down a blush.

"'You would owe me one,'" George repeated in a husky voice.

"Oh, come on. That didn't mean anything," Nancy said, entering the limits of Mapleton.

"Oh, yeah, nothing at all," Bess mocked. "Except 'lick me all over' maybe."

"Shut up," Nancy said, climbing out of her car and heading towards the office of Mick's Garage.

Ned smiled at her, opening the door for the three girls. He took his place next to Nancy and rang the little bell on the counter obnoxiously.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'. Christ," a man in coveralls said, emerging from a back room, shaking his head, annoyed. He looked up and saw Ned grinning at him.

"Nickerson! Well, I'll be damned. I haven't seen you in a while. And you come with a posse of gorgeous ladies. If only to be you for one day. I'd have fame, fortune, and hair like an angel's."

Ned laughed and shook his hand. "Hey Vic. I need you to check out my friend's car. Someone rammed into her."

"Tough break," Vic said, following Ned towards the car. He fawned over the car and Ned pointed out the damages. He introduced Nancy as the owner and put in a good word for her. Vic winked and nodded, understanding. He gave an apologetic shrug and a frown. "Bad news, kid. I can't do anything to get this car ready. It hardly made it here and it won't make it back to River Heights for sure. It won't be ready 'til tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? How am I going to get home?" Nancy said. "You can't just get it ready so I can make it to a garage."

"Sorry, sweetie, I can't do it."

Nancy sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Yeah okay. I understand. I guess we'll have to wait for one of our parents to come pick us up."

"Or…" Ned said.

The girls looked at him hopefully. "I mean, I wouldn't mind driving you guys home."

Nancy blushed, flattered. "Oh, now way. You've done enough for us already. We can't let you."

"Don't worry about it. Seriously, I'd love to. I don't mind at all. If you want, call your parents and tell them you're going to have dinner and then I'll drop you guys off."

"What are you? Some kind of Good Samaritan or something? No one is this nice nowadays," George said skeptically with a playful smile.

Ned leaned in and said in a purposefully loud whisper, "Truth is, I was going to take you to an abandoned barn a couple of miles from here and sacrifice you all to Bubo, the Great Cow God."

"Well, I hear he's the best Cow God there is."

"Oh, definitely."

They all laughed and Nancy looked at him.

"You don't have to do this, you know," she said to him, low enough so that the others couldn't hear.

Ned unlocked his car and let Bess slip into the back seat with George. He smiled at Nancy with a soft look. "I know. What are you in the mood for?"

They stopped at a quaint little burger joint and got to know each other a little more. The girls all liked Ned. He was chivalrous and funny, not to mention very good-looking. He stole glances at Nancy out of the corner of his eye when she wasn't looking. George and Bess gave each other a comprehending look. At the end of the meal, Ned insisted on paying.

"You're crazy if you think we're going to let you pay for us," George said.

"Look, George and I will pay for ourselves," Bess said, a glint in her eyes. "You can pay for Nancy if you want."

"No, he isn't, especially if you guys are paying for yourselves," Nancy retorted.

"It's already paid for," Ned said, interrupting the brewing fight.

"What? How? You haven't even gotten a check."

"My aunt owns this place and I get basically whatever I want if I do her the free service of promotion by word of mouth, so… eat at Julie's. Come on. We'd better get out towards River Heights before it gets too late."

The ride was just as fun as dinner, the four of them bantering. Nancy led him to her house. Bess and George would be sleeping over that night. Ned parked in the curved driveway and peeked up at the colonial style brick house.

"Nice place," he whistled. "A roadster, a mansion… you've got a pretty good life."

Nancy laughed. "It's not a mansion. My dad inherited this house from my grandfather."

Ned nodded. "Well, see you Bess, George."

"Bye Ned. Thanks again," the cousins said, heading into the house.

Nancy leaned at the open window and smiled. "Really, thanks a lot, Ned. It was great meeting you."

Ned gave a smile and reached out to grab her hand for a moment. "You too, Nancy. I'll see you later, okay?"

Nancy's breath caught in her chest. "Okay."

Ned gave a final smile and drove off into the night, heading back towards Mapleton. Nancy smiled, watching after the car for a bit, then gave a small laugh to herself and walked inside her home.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. This is based on the original series written by Carolyn Keene who was smart enough to make the whole thing up.

Chapter 03

"Nancy's got a new beau, Nancy's got a new beau," Bess sang as she walked in through the door.

Nancy snapped out of her daydream. "I do not have a new beau. Ned was just a really nice guy who did a really nice thing."

"What a load, even for you," George said, flopping into an armchair in the living room.

"For once in my life, I agree with George. Total load of crap. You were totally into him," Bess stated bluntly.

Nancy squared her shoulders and sat on the couch. "I was not. I was just grateful. He helped us out big time."

"He's _amazingly_ hot. And he was totally into you."

"No he wasn't," Nancy scoffed.

"Please! Did you see the way he looked at you with those big blue eyes?"

"His eyes weren't blue, they were-" Nancy stopped as Bess and George broke out into laughter.

"You are so burned," George said as Nancy pouted.

"You know what, you can just- ow!" Nancy jumped up suddenly as something pricked her thigh when she moved on the couch. She fished for something in her pocket and pulled out the little leather book.

George leaned forward. "What's that?"

"I had forgotten about this after my whole car deal," Nancy said.

"That and the whole Ned Nickerson deal," Bess added.

"Well, now I'm not going to tell you. How do you like them apples?"

"I'm sorry, please," Bess pouted.

"Yeah. Bess is an idiot," George put in.

"Bit me, butthead."

"You first, butt munch."

"All right, I'll tell you if you both graduate from the fifth grade," Nancy said, waving her arms to stop the battle. "Remember when I told you to move the car?"

"Yeah," George responded.

"Well, I went around back and there was this guy that I thought was coming out of the building. He looked… I don't know, just not right."

"Creepy?" Bess suggested.

"No, like he didn't fit in the scene one way or another. I thought he'd been in the house, but when I called to him he either ignored me or didn't hear. He looked around, kind of like checking to see if anyone was there, and crawled through the back hedges. And, I know this sounds nuts, but I could've sworn he looked kind of familiar."

George sat back thinking. "And how does the book come in?"

"Oh, when the roof came in, I tried to get out of the smoke, ended up bruising the crap out of my knee, and I found it on the ground. Someone must have dropped that day before the fire." Nancy's eyes widened. "Maybe it's that guy's. The guy who went through the bushes."

"Could be," Bess said. "That means he had to have been at the front of the house at some point. Maybe someone saw him there and knows who he is."

"No, the neighbors are all too far away and if that's the case, why run?"

"So what are you saying? You think he could've started the thing?" George asked, eyebrow cocked.

Nancy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, what if he was in the house and fell asleep while smoking or something," Bess said with a shrug. "He wakes up and, boom! The whole place is on fire, so he runs out."

"'Boom!' is exactly right. It couldn't have been something slow like a careless cig. Remember there was a huge explosion and then the house was up in flames all at once," Nancy said, shaking her head.

"Guess we'll have to wait until the police reports come in," George said. "Leave it to Nancy to try and figure out a random fire. That's what happens when your dad is a successful, sought-after defense attorney."

"What happens when your dad is a successful, sought-after defense attorney?" came a deep voice from the entrance of the living room.

The girls looked up to see Carson Drew unbuttoning his suit jacket and slinging it off his broad shoulders. Mr. Drew was a handsome man, tall and distinguished. He had his daughter's blue eyes and a distinctive face. His hair was going gray, but it looked good on him. Mr. Drew had been both father and mother to Nancy since her mother had died at age three.

He sighed. "So, how big a lawsuit do I have on my hands?"

"What, my car?" Nancy asked, kissing his cheek as he came into the room to say hello. "Someone rear-ended me. It's 'how big a bill does Mr. Baylor Weston have on his hands?'"

"Thank God. So tell me, what happened to your girls today? You look terrible," Mr. Drew said, scrunching his nose. "And you smell worse. Like smoke. Seriously, what happened?"

Between Nancy, George, and Bess, they managed to get the whole story out to him. He listened carefully, asking at the end if everyone was fine. They said that they thought no one was in the house, but no one was sure yet.

"That was a brave thing you did, Nancy," Mr. Drew said, head hanging.

"Thanks dad," Nancy said with a smile.

"Brave and stupid." The smile slipped off her face. "You could've gotten yourself killed. I don't ever want you to do something so irrational again."

Nancy lowered her eyes from his, but couldn't help saying, "Would you have just driven away?"

Mr. Drew floundered for a minute. "What I would've done doesn't matter, this is different."

"Why? It's only different because I'm your daughter."

Mr. Drew sighed. "Just… promise to be more careful, okay? And this Ned guy… is he on the level? You shouldn't be getting rides home from complete strangers."

"Ned is as far from a problem as you can get, dad, trust me."

Mr. Drew looked at Bess, then rethought it and looked at George, who nodded affirmatively. "Okay. Whose house was it, anyway?"

"Some couple named Raybolt," Nancy said.

"Raybolt? Felix Raybolt?" Mr. Drew snapped.

"Yeah I guess," she responded, confused at his reaction to the name. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do actually. I just got in a case a couple of weeks ago."

"From this Raybolt guy?" George asked.

"No, from an Arnold Simpson who is suing Felix Raybolt."

"Suing? For what?" Bess asked, leaning forward, intrigued.

"Raybolt deals in patents. He finds new inventors, buys their patents, promises them the world on a string, then cashes in and laughs in their face. He basically gives them a deposit and leaves."

"How is that possibly legal," Nancy said. "He'd have a paper trail longer that the Nile."

"No paperwork. He somehow manages to get all these new inventors to agree with verbal promises."

"No wonder people don't like him," George put in raising her brows.

"No wonder in deed. Anyway, I'm beat. I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep." He kissed each of the girls' foreheads. "Nite."

"Nite," they chorused after him and watched him walked out.

"Okay, so, what's in the book?" George asked impatiently.

Nancy was looking over the little leather book with a furrowed brow. "I don't think it's a book."

"Oh, no, then what is it? A frog?"

"A diary," Nancy said, flipping it open.

George and Bess came over to look over her shoulder. Bess shook her head.

"I can't read it," she whined.

"No shit Sherlock, it's in a foreign language," George snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Eat me, George."

"I can't, it's too big a meal and I like lean meat anyway."

"Cut it out, guys," Nancy said. "Look, this is in English back here. Not that it helps. This is chicken-scratch. I can't read this either."

Just then, Hannah Gruen, the housekeeper came in. Hannah had lived with the Drew's since Nancy's mom had died and helped to raise the girl. Hannah was in her early fifties, with graying hair and brown eyes. She was plump and sweet, always knowing the right thing to say. Hannah smiled at the girls when they looked up at her.

"What are you three scowling at?" she asked, standing in front of them.

Nancy explained quickly, Hannah's brow furrowing. Nancy held out the diary as she finished and Hannah took it, looking down at it and flipping through a couple of pages.

"This is Swedish," she murmured.

"It is?" Nancy asked, taking the journal back and looking through it. "How do you know? Do you speak Swedish?"

Hannah laughed. "No. But, I have a friend who does. In fact, you know him, though you may not remember. His name is Mr. Peterson."

"Peterson? From that bakery you used to take me to when I was little? Awesome! Maybe he can translate it for me."

"Whoa, whoa…" George said, backing up. "You're going to read it? You? Nancy Drew. Little Miss Perfect committing an invasion of personal privacy? Sounds like something I'd do."

"If I don't read it, how can I find out who it belongs to? And if I don't know whose it is, how can I give it back?"

"Okay, now _that_ sounds like something you would do. You scared me. I thought you were becoming, you know, a normal person or something."

Nancy made a face at her and put the book back into her pocket.

Nancy was the first one awake the next morning. She padded out of her room in pajamas, which consisted of a ribbed white tank top and lounge pants with planes on them. She yawned and headed downstairs. Her father had left some time ago to see to something about a case at the office. She sniffed at the air as she walked to the kitchen.

"Good morning," Hannah said, smiling at her.

"Morning, Hannah," Nancy replied and took in a deep breath. She looked down at the fresh baked muffins on the table. "What are these, blueberry?"

Hannah nodded.

Nancy paused before grabbing one as the doorbell rang. She yawned again and headed to answer it. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she swung open the door. Nancy's jaw dropped open and she stiffened as she saw who was standing on her porch.

"Ned?" she yelped. She regained control and plastered a look of nonchalance over her face as she casually smoothed her hair down. "It is Ned, right?"

Ned gave a devastatingly charming smile as if he believed her. "Yeah. And you're Nancy Drew. I guess you leave more of an impression than I do, but one can see why."

Nancy fought down a blush, smiling like a schoolgirl. She opened the door a little wider. "Do you want to come in?"

Ned nodded. "Sure, thanks."

Hannah had just walked into the hallway to see who was at the door. Nancy grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"Ned, this is Hannah. Hannah, this is Ned Nickerson, the guy that helped us out yesterday," Nancy introduced. The pair shook hands with smiles. "Um, I'll be right back, okay? Just one second."

Nancy turned and walked away, turning the corner and breaking into a run. She shot upstairs and burst into her room, tripping over George.

"Ow! Okay, that was my head," George groaned, rubbing where Nancy had kicked.

"What's going on?" Bess asked, coming in from the bathroom down the hall, combing her hair out.

"Nancy stormed in and kicked me in the head," George grumbled unhappily.

Nancy was hopping into a pair of her jeans and stumbled, leaning against her dresser. "Ned Nickerson is downstairs."

"What?" George exclaimed.

"Ned Nickerson?" Bess repeated. "From yesterday? As in really, really hot Ned that was totally checking you out?"

"Yes, gorgeous Ned, knee-weakening smile Ned, I-wish-I-had-hair-that-shiny Ned is downstairs," Nancy emphasized, whipping off the tank top and rummaging in her drawers for the red halter she loved. "So hurry up because you have to come down with me. Come on George!"

"Ow! What the hell is your problem?" George yelled rubbing the spot where Nancy had whacked her on the head. "I'm going. God."

Bess and George followed Nancy downstairs in their pajamas. Ned was in the kitchen with Hannah, making her laugh. He was complimenting her muffins when they walked and they looked at the girls. Hannah stood.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ned. I hope I'll be seeing you around again soon," she said with a laugh.

He smiled at the housekeeper. "Now that I know that muffins this good exist, how can I stay away?"

He looked over at the girls when Hannah had disappeared.

"Hi," he said. "Nice jammies."

"Thank you, I'm fond of them," George said with a smile.

"So, Ned," Bess drawled impertinently. "What brings you by the lovely Drew estate?"

Nancy glared at her as Ned's grin widened.

"I was in the neighborhood-" Ned started.

"Really? That's odd seeing as you live all they way up in Mapleton about an hour and change away," George said, faking innocence.

"I was visiting my aunt in down here in River Heights, actually. Anyway, I was in the neighborhood and I remembered that Nancy had left her car at Mick's, so I thought I'd drop by and offer her a ride up there to go get it."

Nancy smiled. "Thanks, but George was actually going to drive me up."

"No I wasn't," George said.

"No she wasn't," Bess repeated.

Nancy turned to look at her. "Uh, yeah you were. You told me yesterday that you'd drive me up there."

George scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I was just kidding, Nancy. I didn't think you took me seriously."

"Well, its kind of hard not to when you said, 'no, seriously, I'll take you up there.'"

"Jesus, Nancy, you can never take a joke," Bess said.

Nancy turned to Ned with a tightlipped smile. "I guess we would appreciate a ride up there. Thanks again."

"We have to go home first," George said.

"What? Why not?" Nancy asked.

There was a pause and George elbowed her cousin in the ribs.

"Uuuh- because!" Bess practically shouted. "We don't have clothes to wear."

"Why don't you have clothes to wear? You knew you were staying at my house yesterday," Nancy grilled.

"Yes, we did know we were staying over last night… it's just that I…" Bess almost burst out crying, her voice wavering. "I couldn't decide what to wear. If I chose then, it was like making a day-long commitment to those clothes and I can't do that! There was so much pressure. Skirt or pants or shorts… It was just too hard Nancy! Too hard!"

George shrugged as Bess began to sob. "We're commitment phobic. It runs in the family."

Nancy sighed. "Okay, then we'll wait for you guys."

"Again with the pressure!" Bess cried. "I can't take it!"

"The decision could take hours," George said, rubbing her cousin's back as she wailed hopelessly. "Hey, here's an idea. How about you go with Ned and have breakfast… lunch… whatever, and we'll meet you at the garage later?"

Nancy looked at Ned who shrugged.

"I guess we'll see you," Nancy ground out and turned to plaster a fake smile on her face at Ned. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," he said again and as Nancy turned and walked down the hall, he mouthed, "thank you," at George.

George nodded and mouthed back, "You're welcome."

The two girls watched as they walked out of the house.

"Nice cover," George said to her cousin, still staring at the door.

"You too," Bess responded, looking at the door as well. "We're not just going to let Hannah's muffins go to waste, are we?"

"Hell no," George responded, leading the way back to the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. This is based on the original series written by Carolyn Keene who was smart enough to make the whole thing up.

Chapter 04

Nancy strapped herself into the convertible as Ned started down the curved Drew driveway. He lowered the radio a bit and lowered the top.

"Sorry about Bess and George," Nancy said. "They're usually not _that_ weird."

Ned laughed. "Don't worry. You're friends are really cool."

"So, do you know where to eat down here?"

"We're not eating in River Heights."

"We're not?"

"Nope. Just trust me."

Nancy sighed, and leaned back, complying. They talked, getting to know each other better along the trip up to Mapleton. They made each other laugh and their conversation was interesting. He told her he was a student at Emerson college, visiting home for the weekend. She told him that she planned to start there in the fall. Ned parked in front of an old fashioned tea room that was pretty crowded. The hostess sat them near the back of the restaurant. There were two tables near them, but not many more because they were near a wall. Lunch was just as comfortable as the car ride. In a pause between conversation, Nancy overheard the conversation from the table next to them.

"Pretty strange to me that a fire would just _start_ out of nowhere when the place has been empty all summer," an old man was saying, shaking his head dubiously.

"That greedy bastard Raybolt deserved it," one of his friends said vehemently. "That sleaze would steal candy from a baby if he could."

Nancy and Ned caught each other's eye and Ned raised his eyebrows, biting into his burger nonchalantly, but still listening. The third man at the table spoke up quieter and calmer than the other two.

"I'll bet he burned it down himself for the insurance on the place. It must be a small fortune the house alone, let alone all the stuff he jammed in it."

"I wouldn't put it past him," the first man spat.

They didn't say anything else interesting. Ned caught her eye again and they giggled at the cantankerous old men.

"I'm guessing Felix Raybolt isn't too popular around here, huh?" she said sarcastically.

"Oh, you're quick. That old guy had a pretty good idea about the insurance. Sounds like something Raybolt would pull."

Nancy thought over what he'd said, chewing slowly. Ned looked at her worried.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

"Huh? No! Sorry, just thinking about what did start that fire."

"Well, talking about the fire," Ned said with a glint in his eye. He shifted to fit his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled something out. He opened his palm to reveal the object inside. It was a man's signet pinky-ring. It was brushed silver and looked pretty old. There was a "D" engraved on the top of it and a sentence etched around it in a foreign language. Nancy took it, vaguely away of the slight tingle on her fingers where their skin had met. Ned looked her over. "I found it around the back bushes at the Raybolt house. They've got caution tape all around the ruins."

"These symbols look familiar," she murmured, more to herself than out loud. She reached into her bag and pulled out the leather diary.

"What's that?" Ned asked.

"A diary I found at the house."

"Oh, good, because I just thought I was pretty awesome for finding something like a ring. I'm so glad you found something more informative. Great."

Nancy laughed at Ned's sarcasm. "No, it's really good! A ring is better than a diary. It's perfect to identify someone."

"Yeah. So is a journal."

"Not when it's written in Swedish," Nancy said, showing him.

He grinned. "Wow, you're a failure. What would you do without me? So what's the deal with the diary and the insane interest in an old ring?"

Nancy told him about the guy she'd seen running off through the back bushes and how she'd found the diary. He seemed impressed.

"So you think this is his diary? And the ring?"

"I think it might be his too. Ha! It is in Swedish. Look, this is the same word," Nancy said, pointing to one of the words in the diary and one of the words on the ring.

"Pretty clumsy arsonist. Total amateur."

"Tell me about it. Maybe I should give this too the cops."

"Or," Ned said, leaning forward, a devilish grin on his face. "You can keep them and we can have some fun trying to beat them to the punch. Come on, you know you want to."

"More than anything. I like the way you think," Nancy said, mimicking his grin.

Ned paid the check and they headed towards the garage. Vic had fixed her car and it was running perfectly. She backed it out of the garage and parked on the street. She got out and met Ned between their cars.

"Thanks for the ride. And for the ring. And for lunch. And for a great time," Nancy said with a laugh.

Ned looked down at her, taking a step closer. He was very close, so close she could smell him. He smelled really good, not like cologne, but like what she imagined his house would smell like.

"I have a confession to make," he said softly.

"You don't have an aunt in River Heights?"

"No, I do actually. I didn't go down there to see her today, but I do. I didn't go down there just to give you a ride up here, believe it or not." Nancy made a falsely shocked face. "By the way, Bess and George are awesome. I love them." Nancy laughed and then met his gaze, waiting for him to finish. "Look, I like you. I mean, I think I could really like you. You're beautiful and smart and you've got an incredible sense of humor and really… impressive. So, there's this big fancy dinner dance coming up. One of my fraternity brothers is showing off his parent's house while they're out. It's this Thursday and I want you to come with me. Before you answer, let me remind you that you owe me one."

Nancy smiled and glanced down for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "I like you. I mean, I think I could really like you. You're supremely hot and witty and funny and you've got hair so gorgeous it makes me want to cry. So, yeah. I'd love to go to the dance with you."

Ned flashed a broad smile. "I'll pick you up at six-thirty then."

"I'll be waiting."

They stood, a little shy for a moment and then Ned leaned down and kissed her cheek, lingering for a few seconds. Before he pulled back he whispered, "Bye Nancy."

Nancy caught her breath, struggling to speak and finally managed, "Bye."

She made her way to her car, dazed and started her drive home.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. This is based on the original series written by Carolyn Keene who was smart enough to make the whole thing up.

Chapter 05

George and Bess were watching TV in the den when Nancy got back to her house. They looked as she walked into the room.

"How'd it go?" George asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

Nancy glared at her friends who cringed back from the hateful stare. She stepped forward, towards them, slowly. Bess bit her lip, cracking under the pressure.

"Look," she stammered. "It's not our faults. We're commitment phobic. Keeping a lunch date was… just, uh… hoo God…uh, IT WAS ALL GEORGE'S IDEA!"

"You prick! It was not!" George declared, punching Bess's arm.

"You girls…" Nancy hissed, stopping before them as her knees hit the edge of the couch. Bess and George had pulled their legs to their chests, hugging themselves and grimacing. She lunged forward violently. "…are the best!"

The cowering girls cracked open their eyes and wheezed relieved, confused laughs, returning the bear hug.

"You're welcome?" George responded, still confused.

"I love you both. And George, great idea."

"What?! _I'm_ the one who came up with the commitment phobia," Bess proclaimed.

George sneered at her smugly and Bess punched her cousin's arm.

"So, wait! What happened?" George asked as Nancy began to walk out.

Nancy grinned. "He gave me a ring and I'm going to a dance with him on Thursday."

"WHAT!" the cousins yelled, fighting to get off the couch and scrambling up the stairs to follow Nancy to her room.

Nancy laughed as she flopped on her bed and began to tell her friends about what had happened with Ned. Bess sighed and George smirked knowingly. She showed them both the ring and told them how the inscription was Swedish.

"You still think the diary belongs to that guy?" George asked and Nancy nodded.

"I'm going to see if there's any name with a 'D' in the diary. Maybe we can figure out whose it is. Or at least find someone who knows the person."

"Oh, exciting," Bess said sarcastically as Nancy began looking through the journal.

Bess and George put on a movie in Nancy's room as she kept at her work. She had skimmed through all of the Swedish writing, but hadn't found anything. It was past midnight when she started in on the English section. She squinted and leaned closer to the lamp. The handwriting was starting to give her a headache. It looked like the last inscriptions had been done in a hurry or the writer was angry. She got to the end of the diary without finding anything out. Exhausted, she set the little book down, turned off the lamp and went to sleep.

The next morning Nancy looked up the number to Oscar Peterson's bakery. She shushed Bess and George, who were fighting over the cereal box, as a girl came onto the phone.

"Peterson's Bakery, can I help you?"

"Hi. My name is Nancy Drew, I'm an old friend of Mr. Peterson's. Do you think I could talk to him for a second?" Nancy said.

"Uh…" the girl hesitated for a second. "I'm sorry, he's actually upstairs, sick. He's been in bed all week."

"Christ, is he okay?"

"He should be okay pretty soon. He's been feverish, you know. I think he said he'd be in the shop tomorrow."

"Do you think I could pass by later this afternoon and see how he is or is he feeling too bad?" Nancy asked, worried.

"I think that'd be okay. Sure."

"Okay, thanks."

She sat by the phone for a couple of seconds, thinking and chewing on her lip. After a moments hesitation she picked up the phone again and dialed the operator. A bored woman came onto the line.

"Operator."

"Yeah, can I have the number to a Joe Swenson in Sandy Creek?"

"One moment… thank you."

And automated voice came over then, reciting the number. She hung up and dialed. After a second another automated voice came on to tell her the number had been disconnected.

"Mrs. Swenson's phone was disconnected. I think she wasn't able to pay. She's got to be really bad if she doesn't have a phone," Nancy said, serving herself cereal.

Bess looked down sadly. "Hey, why don't we go see them? We know where they live, right?"

George looked at Nancy and shrugged. Nancy smiled.

"Yeah okay," she said, starting to eat.

The girls got dressed and started towards Mr. Peterson's bakery. Nancy had the diary and the ring in her purse on the off chance that he would feel up to reading some of it today. Nancy's brow furrowed as she pulled into the front of the store. There was an ambulance outside. She parked and they walked forward. There was a teenage girl standing near the back of the ambulance, wrenching at her hands nervously as they loaded Oscar Peterson into the back.

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

The girl turned her head. "I went up to check on him in his room and he was really pale and breathing funny. He started talking really weird and I freaked out and called 911. They said he was delirious and that he'd be okay as soon as they get an IV into him."

"Man, that sucks," George said, looking after the ambulance as it drove away.

"Hi, I'm Nancy, I called early. Were you the girl on the phone?" Nancy asked, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, I'm Karen."

They talked for a little while more and then the three friends got back in their car. Nancy sighed.

"Well, let's go see if we can find Mrs. Swenson. She speaks Swedish," Nancy suggested and they started towards Sandy Creek.

About half an hour later, George cursed.

"What's this?" she asked, leaning forward from the back seat. "Detour?"

"Guess we have to go the long way," Nancy said and Bess sank down in her seat with a groan.

They drove for another half an hour on a narrow, one-way street. Up ahead was a decrepit-looking bridge. Bess glanced back over shoulder, glared at something and sat straight again. After a few seconds she repeated the motion.

"What?" Nancy asked, catching her friend's annoyed scowl and glanced in her rearview mirror.

"That stupid truck is totally tailgating," Bess replied, mad. "Back off, jerk."

Nancy shook her head, just as annoyed now. If it wasn't for the fact that she was afraid to ruin her car again, she would've slammed on the breaks to scare him. George was glowering at the man and he honked at them.

"What an asshole," George snapped.

"We've got a bigger problem," Nancy said. "He'd better not try to go over the bridge at the same time as us. It looks pretty old."

"Doesn't look like the bastard's going to slow down."

The girls prayed as they started over the bridge. The trucker, still honking, rumbled on right behind them.

"Holy crap, we're going to die," Bess groaned and sunk down in her seat.

"We're not going to-" George started and stopped as a loud crack sounded out from under them. "What was that?"

"Hold on," Nancy said, setting her jaw and poured on the speed.

She bolted off the bridge, the truck still on her tail. Bess looked back at the bridge, which was now badly cracked. The trucker passed them on the now two-lane street, giving them the finger. George started yelling something, but Nancy calmed her down.

"We're not exactly in the best spot in the world to get into a fight with an angry trucker," she said with a grimace.

George sunk down in her seat, fuming.

Nancy sighed and shook the event off as she drove into Sandy Creek. She slowed, driving up and down the streets looking for the Swenson cottage.

"It had a name, didn't it?" George asked.

"Yeah, Riverwood," Nancy replied.

"Hey, there's Honey," Bess said, pointing to one of the small yards.

The little girl was outside playing with a large dog. She had a worn, faded tennis ball and was throwing it. The mixed-breed would run off to catch it in the air and come running back for another turn. The girl was a pretty little girl with pale skin and freckles. She had blond hair that was bobbed into perfect ringlets and bright blue eyes. Her clothes were faded and used and her shoes were scuffed. As the car pulled into the shallow driveway, Honey recognized the girls and dropped the stick to come running. She almost tackled Nancy in a hug. Her dog, seeing his owner so excited, barked happily once and jumped up on Bess to lick at her face. She reeled away, pushing him off.

"Ah," George crooned, leaning down to embrace the dog. "Come here, boy. That little prissy priss doesn't like you, huh? Well, you can lick me all you want."

Bess glared down at her cousin. "I'm not a prissy priss."

"There's a spider on your foot."

"WHAT?!"

George smirked up at her. "Prissy priss."

"Nancy," Honey said with a grin. "You're here!"

"I'm here," Nancy repeated. "Is your mother home, sweetie?"

"She went walking to the post office to see if Daddy sent her something," Honey explained.

Bess sent Nancy a look, but Nancy was busy keeping the emotion off her face so that Honey couldn't see. If she looked at anyone else, she'd break down.

"You're dad's not home yet?" Nancy asked in a quiet voice.

Honey shook her head. "Nope. He's been away for a long time. Mama's coming back soon, though, because it's close to dinner and I'm hungry. Mama says she was going to try and get something good to eat. I'm sick of eggs. That's all we eat since Daddy left."

"You don't have anything else in the house?" George asked bluntly, standing from patting the dog.

"A little bit of bread, but its getting hard now. Do you want to see my toys? My dad made them for me," Honey said proudly. "He made Hans some toys too, but Hans broke them all already."

"Sorry, sweetheart. We have to go now," Nancy said suddenly and her friends looked at her, surprised, but they knew better than to say anything when Nancy had an idea. "We'll be back very soon. Don't tell your mom we were here. It'll be like our little secret and if you keep our secret, I'll bring you back a special present, okay?"

Honey's eyes widened anxiously. A grin spread over her face and she nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I promise."

"See you in a little while, Honey," Bess said as she got into the car beside Nancy.

As they were backing out of the driveway, George looked at Nancy. "What the hell was that? Why did we leave?"

"We're going to buy those people food," Nancy said, determined as she raced into town. "We just have to make sure we can pick up Mrs. Swenson on her way home so we have to hurry up."

"Ah," George said. "See Bess, I told you Nancy had a good reason."

"Shut up, you never told me that and I never asked," Bess snapped back.

Nancy sped through the streets and parked in front of the grocery store. She grabbed a cart and began piling it high with food. George and Bess pitched in, running off to grab items they thought should be added to the cart. Nancy paid with her card, but Bess and George insisted on giving her some cash. They came out to the parking lot with their full cart. Nancy stopped short as she neared her car.

"Ned," she exclaimed.

He was leaning against the driver side door, the sun setting the highlights in his hair to shine like a halo. He grinned widely at her reaction.

"I thought there couldn't be two cars of the same electric blue in the world," he said, pushing himself off the door and taking the cart from her.

She popped the trunk open and he began putting the groceries away for her.

"What are you doing in Sandy Creek?" Nancy asked.

"I can ask you the same. River Heights is a lot further away than Mapleton is," Ned replied.

"But far nonetheless," George put in. "You aren't stalking us, are you?"

Nancy shot her a look, but Ned laughed.

"Damn, you caught me," he said. "Truth is that Sandy Creek has the best florist around. I came in to leave an order and I saw Nancy's car. Thought I'd say hello. I was actually on my way to go eat, I'm starving."

"You should come with us," Nancy said. "We're going to have dinner at a friend's house."

"I don't want to just barge in," he said kindly, closing the trunk.

"I don't think she'll mind. And besides, this might be the only chance we girls get to pay you back for that dinner in Mapleton."

"Yeah, you have to come," Bess put in. "And just to make sure you don't run off, I'll go in the car with you. Come on. You can follow Nancy."

She practically shoved Ned to his car. Nancy gaped at her friend, utterly terrified. She knew Bess and how she worked. The things that would be said in that car without her supervision had her heart in her throat.

"George," she ground out, starting the car. "Remind me _never_ to invite Bess anywhere again."

"That a promise?" George asked, grinning as they set off.


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: I of course, do not own the Nancy Drew Series. They were made up by the late great Carolyn Keene, who had the wit and imagination to create all this.

Chapter 06

"You know this is useless," George stated, looking out the window. "And stupid. And impossible. And you're just giving Bess more time to grill Ned."

Nancy sighed and shook her head. "Yes, I am very aware of this fact, believe me. But, we have to try. Now look for Mrs. Swenson."

"We're not going to find her."

Nancy was slowly heading back to the Swenson house by the main road. She was hoping to spot Mrs. Swenson walking along the rode and casually offer her a lift home. George watched the side walk. She leaned forward suddenly, squinting at a dirty-blond figure, walking dejectedly down the sidewalk. The head was downcast and the posture stooped.

"Not possible," George muttered, leaning closer. She sat back as Mrs. Swenson came into view. Crossing her arms, she snuffed at Nancy's smug smile. "I've come to the conclusion that you're not as good as everyone says you are, you just work on the most incredible luck."

Nancy lowered her window. "Mrs. Swenson!"

The woman turned at the sound of the voice and gave a weary smile as she recognized the girls. She was a pretty woman with watery blue eyes and an air of pride. However, she was pale and she looked exhausted most of the time, emotional drain clear on her face.

"Nancy," she replied. "George, what a pleasure to see you again. What brings you into Sandy Creek?"

Nancy shrugged. "We were visiting a friend. Would you like a ride home?"

George was already out of the car to pull the seat forward and crawl into the backseat. Mrs. Swenson only hesitated a moment, then gave a smile.

"Thank you, I can't walk another step," she said, and walked around the car to get in.

Nancy smiled at her. "You look tired."

"Quite. I was just coming from the post office." The girls noticed that she didn't carry any mail with her. Nothing yet from her husband. The woman sighed. "I just don't understand it. Joe was never one to break a promise. Not to me and not to Honey. He is an incredible man, Nancy, I wish you could meet him."

"I'd have liked that," Nancy said.

"Man, I'm starving," George said from the backseat, cuing Nancy.

"Me too," Nancy added. "Mrs. Swenson, have you eaten lunch yet?"

"No, but I have to go home and feed Honey as well," the woman said evasively.

"Oh, of course. Actually, our friends Bess and Ned are following us in the car behind. We were going to go to Ned's house and cook. I just did a bunch of groceries and I was going to cook. Would you join us? We could do it at your house and that way Honey can eat with us too. What do you say?"

"You have to say yes, Mrs. Swenson," George insisted, leaning forward towards the woman. "Nancy's got some of Hannah's recipes and you haven't lived until you have one of Hannah Gruen's recipes."

Again, Mrs. Swenson hesitated. She was battling with her pride, the girls could see, but she gave a smile. "I'd love to join you. Honey will be glad to see you girls again, she talks about you all the time."

"Great," Nancy said, speeding towards the Swenson cottage.

She pulled into the driveway. Honey was great actress, she acted like she hadn't seen the girls since the carnival. Nancy and her friends had to work quickly. Ned was introduced to Mrs. Swenson and then Nancy began bringing the bags of groceries into the house. Mrs. Swenson watched, opening her mouth to protest to all the food being piled into her fridge by Bess and the bags that kept coming from Nancy's trunk, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise. They all pretended to be oblivious to Mrs. Swenson's interrupted objections and they talked without stopping to avoid her saying anything. Nancy had bought enough food for at least a week and a half. Still talking, Nancy started to fry up some steaks. Bess started mashing potatoes and Ned distracted Mrs. Swenson with charming conversation and tempting smiles.

George and helped Honey to set the table. Ned snapped to and began transporting Nancy and Bess's steaming dishes to the set table. Mrs. Swenson wasn't allowed to help at all. As they all sat down to eat, Nancy handed Hans a bone to chew on. Ned had helped sneak in a large bag of dog food into the Swenson's pantry.

The food was delicious. There was steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and macaroni salad. Nancy had bought some sodas. George and Ned entertained the group with witty banter. After the steak had been devoured, Nancy disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a chocolate frosted cake and ice cream. Honey gave a gasp and a smile as Bess started to serve. Mrs. Swenson gave Nancy a significantly grateful smile and her eyes were moistening. Mrs. Swenson and the girls picked up the table as Ned entertained Honey. They walked into the small living room.

"Your house is really pretty," Nancy commented on the simple, but elegant style of the family.

"Thank you," Mrs. Swenson said. "Most of these things my husband's family sent over from Sweden."

Nancy walked to the entertainment center, devoid of TV. There were pictures of Honey everywhere from when she was a baby, to a toddler, to her present age. There was a picture of what Nancy assumed was Mrs. Swenson when she was a young girl. She stopped, her blood running cold as she stared at the next picture down the line.

"Who is this?" she asked, struggling to make her voice sound normal.

Mrs. Swenson gazed over her shoulder. "Oh, that's my husband, Joe. Isn't he handsome?"

Nancy swallowed hard and forced a convincing smile on her face. "Absolutely."

The man gazing at her through the picture frame was the same guy she'd seen running through the back bushes of the Raybolt estate. Could it be possible that Honey's father was an arsonist? Could the reason Joe Swenson hadn't contacted his family be because he was a fugitive? Nancy pushed the thoughts out of her head. Impossible, she didn't even know half the story, she shouldn't be jumping to conclusions.

"Absolutely," Honey repeated. "You want to see some of the toys my daddy made me? He's an in… an inventor."

Nancy's heart jumped into her throat. George noticed her friend's expression and gave her a questioning look. Nancy gave a miniscule shake of her head and Honey ran to her room and reappeared with ingeniously designed dolls. She began explaining them. They were beautiful little dolls.

"Come and see our chickens. I have ten chicks of my own," Honey pled, grabbing Ned's hand and jumping up and down. "Please, come on!"

George and Bess followed the pair out the back door. Mrs. Swenson was in the kitchen washing the dishes. Nancy began to help her dry.

"So, you and your husband came over from Sweden when you were married?"

The woman nodded. "Honey was just a toddler. Joe wanted to come to America because he thought he'd have a better chance of selling his inventions. He was always making those toys for Honey and even for the dog. He is a very smart man." Mrs. Swenson's face suddenly fell. "Christ, I can't do this anymore. Nancy, I'm really scared. I think something's happened to Joe."

"I doubt it," Nancy said too quickly.

Mrs. Swenson turned to her, eyes wide. "Why do you say that?"

Nancy floundered for a second, but never showed it. "If something happened to your husband, you'd have heard by now. Bad news travels fast and no news is good news, as Hannah says."

"Maybe, but there is no reason why Joe wouldn't be writing. He promised me he would, and Joe has never broken a promise before. Not to me. Not to Honey."

"Well, you know, my dad's a lawyer and he's got some good connections. Maybe I can help… that is, if you want me to," Nancy said, a little afraid of the answer.

Mrs. Swenson hesitated, then nodded. "Thank you."

"First of all, why don't you tell me the whole story?"

"We came to this country about two years ago. Like I said, Joe is a brilliant man, very well educated. He wanted to sell his inventions and he figured that America would be the place to do it. He got around to patenting a certain invention, but he got robbed on the deal."

Something in Nancy's head clicked. Things were starting to look black for the Swenson family. She managed to say in her normal voice, "Robbed?"

"Yes. He handed over the drawings to a thief named Raybolt." Nancy held her tongue, but found it hard to swallow.

"Felix Raybolt?" Nancy commented, not making eye-contact. "I heard his house burned down."

"What?" Mrs. Swenson was shocked. "Oh my lord, was anyone hurt?"

"Not according to the police."

"Well, Raybolt may be a horrible man, but it's still a shame."

"So you say that Mr. Raybolt stole Mr. Swenson's invention?"

"Yes, he took out the patents under his own name. Joe was counting on that money, and in truth it was a whole lot of money that would've been coming to us. But now, since we don't have it, Joe went to look for a job. He said he'd found something temporary in a nearby town and that he would write, but I haven't heard a word. It's been two weeks and the truth is, I won't be able to manage much longer."

Nancy smiled at the woman as they finished the dishes. "Look, everything will turn out alright, I promise. I'll talk to my dad when I get home and see what he can do about the patent issue."

"I don't want a scandal," Mrs. Swenson said fearfully.

"There won't be, I promise. Hush-hush," Nancy said, and Mrs. Swenson reciprocated it, a little less lustrous. "Is there anything that I can show my father?"

Mrs. Swenson thought for a few seconds. Her eyes lit up. "My husband did keep a diary."

"Did he," Nancy said, almost sarcastically. George was right, it seemed that Nancy worked on incredible luck.

"Yes, there might me something worthwhile in there, but Joe always carries it with him. It was a gift from his mother."

At that moment, the others walked in from the backyard. Honey was excitedly talking to Ned with a look of complete admiration. Ned was smiling and humoring the child. Mrs. Swenson tactfully pulled her daughter away from him and stood her near her.

"I think we'd better go," Bess said. "We have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks for having dinner with us, Mrs. Swenson," George added. "It was great to see you again."

Mrs. Swenson waved them good bye, then she took Nancy aside for a moment and said in a quiet voice, "I really appreciate what you did tonight. We will always be indebted to you."

"No problem, Mrs. Swenson. Our pleasure. See you soon," Nancy promised.

The teens walked to the car and Nancy was finally able to speak to Ned. He looked at her with a smile, hands in his pockets.

"That was a really sweet thing you did for them," he said.

"Thanks," Nancy said.

"Not that you did anything to help," George added mockingly.

"Yeah, well, I felt guilty about that. So I hid about fifty bucks in fives around the house. She can't exactly get offended if she finds five dollars in her silverware drawer. And in the mouth of one of the girl's toys. And on her nightstand."

"When did you go to her bedroom?"

Ned just grinned.

"You really are a sweetheart," Bess said with a smile.

"Yeah, well," Ned replied. "See you girls." They got into Nancy's car and Ned leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "See you on Thursday."

Nancy smiled at him. "Yeah, see you."

When they were on the road back, Bess grinned at her friend.

"Nancy and Ned, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Shut up."

"So what were you and Mrs. Swenson talking about?" George asked.

Nancy's face fell and she related the conversation in the kitchen. George whistled and Bess grimaced.

"Not looking to good for Mr. Swenson," George stated. "Poor little girl."

Nancy didn't say anything. When they got to the Drew house, the cousins got their things and drove away in George's yellow Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Hannah greeted her when she came in.

"Hey Hannah," she called out. "Is daddy home yet?"

"Not yet, he says he's getting in late, not to wait for him. There's some mail for you on the table."

Nancy grunted and went to grab the envelope waiting for her. She ripped it open and sighed. It was the bill for her car repair. She would call Baylor Weston after school the next morning. She went up to her room and pulled out Joe Swenson's diary. At the back, in English, she found something that looked like a list of materials and companies, or factories that sold them. They all seemed to be manufacturing factories. Something Mrs. Swenson said triggered a vague hunch. Joe Swenson was looking for a job and he'd probably look for a job in something he was good at, like assembling things in a factory. Maybe she'd call around to these places and see if they'd made any new hires. Nancy set the book down, satisfied and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Nancy Drew series or any of the characters. They are owned by other people who were ingenious enough to come up with the idea.

Chapter 07

"Why won't school end? Why, God, why!" George yelled, shaking her fist up to the heavens. "What have I done that was so very awful?"

"Well, there was that time that you almost burned your house down," Bess began, counting the incidents off on her fingers. "Then there was the time you decapitated my cabbage patch doll, the time you pushed me off the swings and knocked out both of my front teeth, the time you painted your dog blue, the time-"

"I think he gets the picture, thank you Bess," George said between clenched teeth.

"As long as it was clear," Bess replied, giving an obnoxious grin.

"Don't you have to, like, I don't know? Go cheer and stuff?" George asked in a valley-girl accent, pretending to flip her hair and bat her eyelashes.

"Okay, this is when George and I break off and I casually stop the brewing fight. Come on George. Physics time," Nancy said, pulling the cousins apart and heading down the opposite hallway than Bess.

When George and Nancy walked into their physics class, they found Harriet Bruner's feet draped comfortably over George's seat. One of her minions had done the same to Nancy's seat. They were talking and laughing loudly. Nancy sighed and shook her head, looking down at the girls, who ignored them. George took a different approach. She lifted her books over her head and dropped them so they slammed heavily on the tabletop. The girls jumped and looked over at them.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Georgiana," Harriet said, twisting a lock of hair with her finger.

"Yeah, well, I can imagine. I know how hard it is for you to tear your eyes away from the mirror, Harry," George replied.

"My name is Harriet. My parents didn't play a cruel joke on me at birth," Harriet said, dropping all pretenses and glaring at her.

"Are you sure? I think that overdose of testosterone was kind of a cheap shot. Nice mustache, Tom Selleck."

Harriet's hand flew to her lip with a gasp and then she narrowed her eyes at George.

"Okay, this isn't funny. Could you please move your feet?" Nancy said calmly, rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong Nancy? Has the Mystery of the Imposing Feet stumped you?" Harriet mocked, cocking her head to the side and her minion Clarissa laughed from beside her.

"Seriously, man, how intimidated by us are you? It's really kind of sad," Nancy said.

"Intimidated by you? Ha! That's funny, Nancy Drew. You're a laugh riot. You think because you have this rich, lawyer dad that you can just boss everyone around. Well, you know what, you can't."

"Rich lawyer dad? Has that been the problem all this time? You're intimidated because my dad is a better lawyer than yours?"

"Poor Harry," George pouted, pretending to be concerned. Then she sobered. "Look, Nancy may be too nice, but I'm not." She shoved Harriet's feet off her chair and then turned a cold stare over at Clarissa and barked, "Move."

Clarissa's feet sunk off Nancy's seat and thumped to the floor. George sent her a fake smile.

"Thanks."

After school, George went to volleyball practice with Nancy and Bess went to cheerleading practice. They all changed and walked to the parking lot together. They waved and separated, Bess getting into her red Mini Cooper S Class, George getting into her Jeep, and Nancy getting into her roadster. When Nancy got home, she looked flipped to the back of the diary again and wrote all the names of the factories and companies Joe Swenson had bought supplies from. She logged online and started looking up their addresses in areas nearby Sandy Creek. She stopped as she recognized one of the addresses. Nancy pulled a paper out of her purse and looked at the address Baylor Weston had written down.

"Why hadn't I thought of that?" Nancy said, shaking her head for not putting Baylor Weston and Weston Electronics together.

He owned a factory in Stanford, and Nancy grinned. It wasn't that far from Sandy Creek. She had double reason to go. She could give Mr. Weston the bill for her car and she could see if they'd made any recent hires.

She heard the front door close and she got up, stuffing the phone numbers in her pockets. She came downstairs and kissed her father's cheek.

"Hi daddy," she said with a smile.

"Hi," Mr. Drew replied, giving his daughter a look. "I know that look. You cracked something."

"Wide open. Too open. In fact, I need your help," Nancy admitted.

"And I'm sure you'll get it, but for right now, I need **your** help, Nancy," Hannah said, pulling the girl away. "Please set the table."

During dinner, Nancy told her father Mrs. Swenson's story and about how Joe Swenson was the man she'd seen running from the fire. Mr. Drew listened carefully and at the end, agreed that things didn't look good for the Swenson.

"But he's innocent until proven guilty, right?" Nancy asked hopefully.

Mr. Drew gave a little laugh to himself as he stuck another forkful of chicken and potatoes into his mouth. He chewed carefully and then replied, "On paper, yes, but the police would make a very different assumption."

"What makes you say that?"

"They've decided for sure that the fire was caused by something, probably an explosion, though they don't know what caused it. Consequently, that means that the police are looking for who set the explosives off."

"I know that everything is pointing towards Joe Swenson, but, I really have a feeling that it wasn't him."

"Sweetie, you don't even know him."

"I know, but I know of him and I know his family. They're so convinced that he's a great person and I want to believe them. I think I do believe them."

"It looks like you're stuck in a pretty hard situation," Hannah murmured sympathetically, sending Nancy a warm smile.

"This whole thing… I think what you really need to do is talk to Felix Raybolt," Mr. Drew said after thinking hard for a minute.

"Raybolt?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, this whole thing seems to go back to him. Joe Swenson went into business with him, then he was at his house when it began to burn. Now both Joe Swenson and Felix Raybolt are missing."

"Raybolt is missing?" Hannah asked.

"He hasn't been seen for weeks and no one can find him after the fire."

Nancy gave her father a look, then grinned. "I know that look. You cracked something, didn't you?"

"Well, as you know, I also have a case dealing with Raybolt, so I have a special interest in finding him."

"You found him?"

"Not exactly. I didn't find Raybolt, but I did find his wife. I think you should go visit her, Nancy, and see what you think. She's staying at the Maplecroft Inn. It's one of those fancy all inclusive summer resorts. See if you can get her to tell you where her ratty husband is."

Nancy grinned. "First thing tomorrow after school, I promise."

"Just be careful and tell me what you find out. I need to speak to the jerk myself," Mr. Drew scowled.

The next school day seemed to take forever. Nancy watched the clack, waiting anxiously for the last bell to ring. Luckily there was no practice today for the volleyball team, but the cheerleading squad had a meet. She had already asked George to go with her to see Mrs. Raybolt.

"She's in one of those luxury hotels that have a dining room and lunch room and stuff. She'll probably be eating there," Nancy explained as they drove up to see the woman.

"How do you get sucked into a marriage with someone that sleazy?" George wondered aloud. "How do you get sucked into marriage at all?"

"I bet you a thousand dollars that you'll be the first out of all of us to get married."

"Good, I can use the money."

They parked and walked into the gloriously furnished lobby of the hotel. Branching off to the left was the dining room. They were serving a late lunch. Nancy walked to the concierge and gave a sweet smile. His smile was less friendly, more pompous.

"Hi, I wanted to know if Mrs. Raybolt was in," Nancy said.

"We do not keep a record of what our guests do and when they come and go," the man said with an attitude and a thick French accent.

George scoffed, and Nancy made a little movement that clearly told her to shut up. "Well, do you know if she's in the dining room?"

"I certainly do not know whether or not Mrs. Raybolt is in the dining room."

"Well, can we go check?" George snapped.

"Are you a guest of this hotel?"

"No."

"Then, no."

"You're not even French are you?" George retorted, narrowing her eyes and leaning over the counter.

The man glared at her. "If you are not here to check in, I must have to ask you and your friend to leave before I call security."

George was about to say something, but Nancy grabbed her arm and smiled exasperatedly at the concierge. "Thanks for the help. We'll leave now."

When they got outside, George started apologizing.

"Look, I'm sorry," she began, "but that guy really-"

"That guy was a douche bag," Nancy fumed, cutting her friend off. "'Are you a guest?' Screw that, like that matters."

They were pouting on the wide wooden entrance to the hotel, still talking about what a jerk the front desk guy had been when a black Cadillac stopped under the breezeway to drop someone off. The chauffer got out hurriedly, an anxious, worried expression on his face. He pulled open the back door to the Cadillac and helped out a woman in her fifties.

She was a pretty woman with graying hair wrapped into an elaborate bun. She was pale and drawn, a nauseous look painted over her regal features. She was elegantly dressed and had the air of money. She leaned heavily on her chauffer's arm, breathing hard.

"Jesus," George murmured. "She looks really bad. Like if someone blew on her she'd fall over and shatter."

Nancy was about to say something when the woman stumbled. She instinctively jerked to help her, but the woman slipped over herself and collapsed on the front entrance of the hotel. In the span of a second, Nancy was on her knees next to the woman along with the chauffer. George stood uncertainly, rooted to her spot.

"Get some water. Quick!" Nancy barked back at George and she started and ran into the lobby.

"Oh God," the chauffer moaned. "Mrs. Raybolt!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 08

Nancy snapped her head up at the name, but the chauffer was worried about more important things than Nancy. George came running back out, without the water, but with the stuck up concierge in tow. When he saw Mrs. Raybolt passed out he began to freak out.

He cursed in French for a few seconds. "Take her inside to the manager's office and have her lie down. I will have the house doctor come and take a look at her." He ran off, pale and muttering in french some more.

Between George and the chauffer, the managed to lift the unconscious woman and Nancy opened the door to the office for them. They laid her on the wide comfortable couch. The manager, stood from behind his desk.

"Good God, what happened?" he demanded as Nancy ran to the bathroom and ran some paper towels under the cold tap.

The chauffer began to explain while Nancy pressed the cold towel to the woman's forehead. "We went by the site of the fire. I told her it wasn't a good idea, but she wanted to. She saw her house and kind of sagged and got really pale. I made her come back to the hotel and she just collapsed."

Mrs. Raybolt tossed her head faintly and moaned. They all turned to look at her.

"Felix," she murmured. "Oh, Felix…"

Nancy leaned closer to her, wiping her brow gently. "Don't worry, your husband will be coming soon."

The woman shook her head, her forehead creasing. "My husband?"

"Yes, he's coming now," Nancy lied.

"My husband is dead. Felix is dead!"

"No he isn't, your husband is fine."

"He burned," she cried, lifting a hand to her head. "He burned down with my house. Felix is dead!"

"Listen, everything is fine. The police have said there's no evidence of anyone being in the house," George insisted gently.

"Yeah, your husband is…" a thought struck Nancy violently and her words caught in her throat for a moment, then she smiled at the woman. "…fine. I promise."

At that moment the doctor came in, the French desk clerk anxiously leaning over his shoulder. He handed her a glass of water to drink and had her sit up. Mrs. Raybolt, however, was adamant about her declaration.

"He was there when the fire happened," she said, her voice cracking. "He had an appointment. I told him not to go, damn it, but he never listened to me. He hated when I got involved with his business affairs."

"Mrs. Raybolt, you must calm down. Just-" the doctor began, trying to ease the conversation.

Mrs. Raybolt ignored him, looking straight at Nancy, a frantic look in eyes. "He shouldn't have gone! He knew it was going to be trouble. He told me the guy was about to snap. Felix thought he might hurt him. He shouldn't have gone!"

Nancy held her breath. If the appointment was with Joe Swenson, things were worse than she thought. She cursed to herself.

"All right, Mrs. Raybolt needs some air. Everybody, please leave the room," the doctor announced in an authoritative voice.

Nancy and George, along with the others in the room, filed out. The girls were silent as they headed to the car. When they got out to the road, George looked at Nancy. She had a worried look on her face.

"What do you think of this whole thing now?" she asked.

"I think that either Joe Swenson has very bad luck or his family is very good at covering for him," Nancy said, feeling like she was swallowing a handful of tacks.

"You think he was the person Raybolt was meeting up with?" George asked.

"I hope not."

"You think Raybolt is dead?"

Nancy hesitated, her gut wrenching. "Like you said, the police haven't seen anything like that, but…"

"But?" George asked as Nancy turned onto the highway.

"That explosion. Remember that they found traces of something that had blown up? What if, in the explosion, Felix Raybolt…"

"Ew," George said, wrinkling her nose. "You mean guts and brains and stuff everywhere?"

"Thank you for painting that picture, but yeah. Maybe. I hope not."

"Hey, this isn't the way home," George said, looking out her window.

"I figured since we're already up here I might as well drop off my repair bill to that Weston guy," Nancy explained. "Why waste another trip."

George looked at her friend suspiciously. "Why are you really going to this guy's job when you can just mail the damn thing?"

Nancy grinned at how well George knew her. She started to tell her about how she found the list of factories and her theory about Joe Swenson. George nodded and sunk back down in her seat. Nancy pulled into a gas station and went into the stop-n-go to pay. She handed her credit card to the man at the counter.

"Do you know the fastest way to Stanford? I need to get there before five," Nancy asked sweetly.

"You can take the shortcut across Sunview Mountain. It'll take half the time," he stated and began to explain the way through the pass. "But be careful. There's a report out that some whack job is hiding in the area. Just lock your doors."

"They don't know who it is?" Nancy asked.

"Nah, not yet. But supposedly this guy has a wrap sheet. Arson, robbery, some other stuff… and they're pretty sure he's got a gun on him. Pretty girl like you should be careful, get me?"

"Thanks."

Nancy went out to meet George who had started pumping gas into the car and related the story. George scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Thank God Bess isn't here. She'd be having a shit-fit," George muttered.

The girls got back into the car and kept driving. They were soon traveling along a dense wood. George shifted nervously. Nancy's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.

"Could that guy at the gas station maybe not have given you directions into the creepiest part of Stanford? Just a thought. It'd be pretty funny to see that Swenson guy hiding in one of these bushes, huh?" George mocked, but her voice was strained.

"Yeah. Hilarious," Nancy said, swallowing hard. She scanned the landscape. "You know, you might be onto something."

"What?" George squeaked nervously.

"This is a pretty good place to hide."

George stared at her, horrified until Nancy gave a teasing grin and George shoved her and she laughed. They passed through the shortcut and reached a fork in the road. Nancy stopped and grimaced.

"I can't remember what the guy said, left or right," she murmured. "I think left?"

She turned the wheel and started down the left side of the road. They drove for a couple of minutes, but nothing appeared.

"Okay, I'm starting to think that maybe this wasn't the right way," Nancy said, shrugging.

"You think?" George snapped sarcastically. "Why don't we just ask at this creepy shack up here?" She sat up in her seat as Nancy began to pull up to the shack. "Are you freaking nuts, I was kidding!"

"Calm down, okay?" Nancy said, throwing the car into park.

"Did you not hear about the psycho killer roaming the area?" George called after her. She debated with herself for a second, then opened the door. "Shit. Hey, wait for me!"

They walked slowly up to the shack, looking around the woods. Nancy gave a yelp, which George caught and continued and they stood, huddled for a moment. Nancy squinted after a moment and started laughing.

"Sorry. I though that stupid scarecrow was someone hiding in the bushes," she explained.

George, still panting and afraid, smacked her arm. "Bitch."

Nancy laughed. "I'm sorry. I got scared!"

George muttered something and they continued towards the shack. It was decrepit-looking and small. The hinges were rusted and the wood was rotting and chipping. Nancy took in a deep breath and then, showing more confidence than she felt, knocked on the door. They waited anxiously for a few moments and then she knocked again. Nothing. George craned closer to listen.

"I think I heard someone in there," she said in barely a whisper.

They waited a little longer, then Nancy grabbed the doorknob. Expecting the shack to be locked, she almost fell forward when the door swept open all at once. She looked up to see if someone was there, but the shack was empty. She laughed and gave George a smile. The latter shook off her adrenaline rush and reciprocated the smile. The shack had some furniture covered in a thick layer of dust. Nancy looked around, but there was nothing.

She and George went back to the car and decided to go back to the fork in the road and go down the right side. After a while, they saw the town of Sanford below them. Nancy stepped on the gas and had George read her directions to the Weston factory. They parked in the guest parking and walked into the main office. It was about four fifteen in the afternoon and Nancy grinned to herself.

"Hi," Nancy said charmingly to the secretary. "I'm here to see Mr. Weston. I don't have an appointment, but I won't take long. I just came to drop something off."

"Let me see if he can see you. Your name?" the secretary asked kindly.

"Nancy Drew. I'm the girl whose car he ran into on Friday."

"Oh, okay. Sure. Hold on a second." She picked up the phone and spoke quietly into it for a second. She hung up after a minute and stood, leading them to a closed door behind her. "Mr. Weston will see you."

"Thanks," Nancy said, walking into the office with George.

Baylor Weston was just as jumpy as the last time they'd seen him. When he saw the girls, he began spouting apologies again that Nancy managed to stem after a while. He was expecting her it seemed. Nancy handed him the bill, waiting for him to tell her his insurance company's name, but instead he whipped out his check book and wrote out a check for the full amount. George's eyes bugged and she gave Nancy a _this guy must be loaded _look, but didn't say anything.

"Here you are. Again, I-I-I-I-I-I'm so sorry about the trouble. This is quite reasonable, I must say. My last accident cost much more. Not to mention that lawsuit I managed to avoid." He laughed to himself and pushed his glasses up his nose compulsively. "Quite, quite, unfortunate. Yes. Well, now that that's settled, one less thing to worry about. I really shouldn't drive."

"Maybe you should get a chauffer," George said without meaning to and Nancy elbowed her in the ribs.

"That's a great idea!" he said to their surprise and they plastered smiles on their faces as he scribbled the idea down on a post-it note. "Have you heard how much Raybolt lost in the fire?"

"No, I don't think they've estimated anything yet," Nancy replied. "We did run into Mrs. Raybolt nearby though. She looked really bad."

Baylor Weston snorted. "They never did like losing a penny."

"I've heard, but she was saying that he husband was burned along with the house."

"She was going crazy. She thinks he's dead," George added.

"Felix Raybolt burnt in a fire? Ha! Not a chance. He's too smart for that," Weston alleged.

"She didn't look like she was faking it," Nancy replied, perturbed.

"I doubt she was. Raybolt was never one to tell his wife anything. He did what he needed to do to get his way."

"You know him?"

"We used to do business for a while. The man is a low life thief. I broke off any business relation years ago. He has no conscious," Weston said disgustedly.

"We've heard," Nancy replied dryly. "Mr. Weston, I came for another reason. Do you know if there's a Joe Swenson working here? He would have started in the last week or two."

Weston thought for a moment then shook his head. "I can't think of anyone named Swenson who started, but let me check with human resources." He picked up the phone and after a couple of minutes, hung it up again with a shake of his head. "No one named Joe Swenson works here. Sorry. Is he a friend?"

"Sort of," Nancy responded evasively. "He's more the friend of a friend and I was looking for him to ask him something. Thanks Mr. Weston. See you later."

"No, really, thank you," Weston said, grabbing her head and looking her straight in the eyes. "Thank you very much."

Nancy smiled. "No problem. Accidents happen."

"Look into that chauffer," George called back to him.

"I will, thank you," Weston replied.

Nancy and George walked back down to the car. They had just pulled out of the visitor's parking and onto the street that ran across the front of the factory as a whistled blew, signaling the end of the work day at the factory. The girls waited at a red light as factory workers began pouring out of the plant. Nancy leaned forward suddenly.

"No way…" Nancy murmured in disbelief.

"What? What happened?" George asked, concerned.

Nancy pointed to a worker crossing the street a few blocks ahead of them. "That guy over there… that's Joe Swenson!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 09

"Swenson?" George repeated, looking after the figure in the blue work shirt. He had a fast-paced walk. "Well, come on! Catch up to him."

The light was green and Nancy weaved her way through traffic. She kept the man in sight. They were gaining after a couple of blocks. George cursed as he turned into a narrow street. Nancy, with a determined face, sped up and followed him down the street. When he reached the end of that street, he turned again into what seemed like an even narrower street.

"We're going to talk to him if it kills me," Nancy muttered, focusing on the where the figure had been a moment ago.

She was about to wheel around when she saw that the street was roped off. A policeman waved his arms for her to go to the right. Nancy and George watched as Joe Swenson sighed and melted into the crowd that was waiting for a parade to go pass. The officer looked at her pointedly and motioned to the right. With a sigh of defeat, she turned the wheel and went around. It was getting late now and she headed back towards River Heights.

"Crap! We were this close," George snapped. "You think he knew we were following him?"

"No, I don't think so. He didn't look like he was trying to avoid us and he looked kind of bummed about the parade crowd," Nancy said, shaking her head.

"Of all days to have a stupid parade. So, what do you think Joe Swenson was doing in Stanford?"

"Working, I'm sure of it. And I'm almost positive that it was at Weston Electronics."

"Weston said that he wasn't working there, though," George mentioned, confused.

"Yeah, under the name of Joe Swenson. I think he used another name for some reason. I'll call sometime this week and see Weston will give me the names of all the new hires starting from two weeks ago."

"Damn, when you get rolling, you're on fire. I didn't even think about that."

Nancy dropped George off at her house and went home. The next couple of days went by without much to say. The three girls finished their finals. Thursday was the last day of school. George and Nancy had a volleyball team farewell party after school.

"Hey, Hannah. I'm home," she called out, dropping her bag by the door. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cookie from the freshly baked batch on the table.

Hannah smiled. "Hello, baby. How was the last day?"

"I cried. Bess sobbed. George… well, George was bouncing off the walls, but she got teary-eyed at the end of it all."

Hannah laughed. "That sounds like George all right. By the way, a certain Ned Nickerson has called about five times since two-thirty for you."

Nancy's head snapped up from her cookie. "Ned called?"

Hannah grinned as the phone rang. "Now who on God's good earth could that be?"

"I got it!" Nancy yelled, but Hannah beat her to the phone.

"Drew residence," Hannah chirped into the receiver as Nancy fought to grab the phone from her hands. Hannah ignored her and turned the phone away from her. "Why, Ned, hello again. Yes, as a matter of fact she is. Just a moment." She turned to Nancy, who had stopped fighting for the phone and stood, arms crossed and glaring at Hannah. "It's for you."

Nancy grabbed the phone from Hannah. "Thank you. Hello?"

"Nancy?" Ned's voice asked from the other end. He was smiling as if he knew what was going on.

"Hi Ned. How's it going?" Nancy turned and saw Hannah, listening to every word. "Can you hold on a minute, I'm going to go to my room." She covered the mouthpiece and looked at Hannah. "Hang up when I tell you please."

"All right," Hannah answered, unconvincingly.

"Okay? You promise?"

"I swear to it!" Hannah said, one hand on her heart, the other hand in the air.

Nancy handed her the phone and raced up to the phone in her room. "HANG UP!" she yelled downstairs. "Hello?"

"Yeah," Ned replied.

"Hannah! Hang up!" Nancy yelled again.

"Okay!" Hannah yelled back.

"Hello?" Nancy repeated.

"Yeah," Ned laughed. "I just called to remind you that I'm coming to get you at six-thirty. Is that still okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be ready," Nancy replied with a smile.

"Great. See you soon, then," Ned said. "Bye."

"Bye."

Nancy hung up the phone and sat staring at it for a few seconds with a goofy smile on her face. Then she sighed and rolled over, catching a glimpse of the clock. She sat up quickly.

"Shit!" she yelled.

It was already five o'clock. She only had an hour and a half. She ran to the bathroom, grabbing her towel and jumping in. She washed her hair and shaved her legs, exfoliated and moisturized. She toweled off, put on her underwear, blow-dried her hair, sweeping her long bangs drastically to the side. After that she put cream on her legs, finishing crème in her hair, and perfume on her neck and wrists. She pulled out the dress Bess had helped her buy a couple of days ago and pulled it on. Hannah walked in then and she turned her back to her.

"Can you zip me up?" Nancy asked.

Hannah did so and turned her, holding her gently by the shoulders and looking her over with a smile. She was wearing a pretty pale green, fifties style cocktail dress that swept off the shoulder and had a somewhat low back. It had a wide, patent-leather black belt over her waist. It was just below her knees with a small layer of tulle at the bottom. She was wearing black pumps and a patent-leather black clutch purse.

"You look gorgeous," Hannah replied.

Nancy smiled widely. "Thanks Hannah."

"Your father is home if you want to see him."

"Great, I can tell him about Joe Swenson."

Nancy met her father in the living room where he had just turned the news on. He looked her over.

"Well, you look beautiful," he said. "Just like your mother."

Nancy smiled softly. "Really?"

Her father nodded. "A splitting image of her." Nancy saw that tinge of sadness creep into his eyes even though she knew he tried to keep it from her. He smiled brightly after a second. "Don't you think it's a little too fancy for dinner though?"

"Dad, I'm going on a date. With Ned."

"Ned? Date?" Mr. Drew repeated, standing to face her.

"I told you on Sunday, remember?"

Mr. Drew waved her comment away. "This 'Ned' guy… the same one who brought you home from the Raybolt fire?"

"Yes, dad, that Ned."

"I don't know if I like the idea of you dating a guy that is coincidentally at the site of explosions. And guys who almost steal your car."

"He wasn't stealing my car, he was moving it and he did not blow anyone's house up. You'll like him," Nancy promised. At that moment, the doorbell rang and Nancy gave her father a face. "Be nice, okay? Remember how much you love me."

Mr. Drew mumbled something under his breath. Nancy went to the door and pulled it open. Ned looked up from his shoes at her. He was wearing black slacks and a clean, pressed, white button-down shirt with a simple black tie. His hair was, as always, gorgeous and flopping over his forehead and half into his eyes. He stopped dead for a moment and looked over Nancy, his face falling in awe.

"Wow," he whispered in an amazed tone. "You look… really… wow."

Nancy blushed. "Thanks. You too."

From behind them Mr. Drew made loud steps and cleared his throat exaggeratedly. They both wheeled around, coming to their senses and Ned smiled charmingly.

"Ned, this is my father, Carson Drew," Nancy presented. "Dad, this is Ned Nickerson."

Mr. Drew returned the smile and shook Ned's hand. "Nice to meet you, Ned." From behind Ned Nancy gave a nod and a thumbs-up in approval. The next moment, her father shot her down. "I hear that you drive strangers an hour and a half home."

To their surprise, Ned laughed. "Well, I couldn't just leave them there."

"They could have caught a bus."

"That would have taken hours and besides, a bus is no place for three nice girls."

Mr. Drew smiled widely then and Nancy knew that Ned was in the clear. He had passed the test and her father approved.

"That's a good head you've got on your shoulders."

"Thank you, sir, I plan to keep it."

Mr. Drew laughed. "So, where are you and Nancy going tonight?"

"A fraternity brother of mine is having a dinner party at his parent's house."

"Ned goes to Emerson," Nancy chimed in. "He's on the football team."

"Really?" Mr. Drew said, leading him to the living room couch. "That's a great team. A great school. Nancy was planning to go there. It'll be good knowing I have someone up there to look after her."

They talked for a little while more, then Nancy insisted that they had to leave. Mr. Drew followed them to the door.

"Have a good time," he said as they stepped out of the door. "And try to be home by twelve-thirty, the latest."

"Sure thing, Mr. Drew," Ned said. "See you later."

"Bye daddy," Nancy said, kissing his cheek.

Ned opened Nancy's door, then slipped behind the wheel, heading towards the highway.

"So," he asked, a small smirk on his face. "Did I pass?"

"With flying colors," Nancy responded. "Dad really likes you."

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?"

"Because he usually tells boys to have me home by eleven."

Ned shot her a look that had various meanings. He was glad that her father approved. He wasn't all that thrilled about the 'boys' part. "Boys? How many boys has he said this to?"

"Hold on, give me a minute…" Nancy teased, pretending to think back.

Ned dismissed her when he saw she was joking. They talked on the ride up and after a while they got to the Raybolt fire. Nancy told him about Mrs. Raybolt and about what Baylor Weston had said. She stopped, looking worried. Ned glanced at her from the corner of his eye for a moment and asked what was wrong. Nancy thought about it for a second and then told him what she knew about Joe Swenson and that she'd seen him at leaving the Weston plant. Ned's eyebrows raised and he wished her luck on that, then he very cleverly managed to twist the conversation back to something light and had her laughing in less than a minute.

They pulled up to a huge house where there were a lot of cars parked. Ned was greeted instantly. He introduced her to his fraternity brothers and their dates. She liked the people she met. They had personality.

"Well, well, well, Nickerson, don't we look fancy in them shiny shoes?" came a voice from behind.

They turned and were faced with a grinning boy. He was average height, saved from being short by an inch or too, but was nicely built. He had shining blond hair and bright blue eyes that were laughing at his frat brother.

"Look at those shoes, Dave," he continued. "At certain angles, they can blind you."

The boy standing beside him, Dave presumably, mimicked his grin. He was tall, a little taller than Ned, with black hair and pretty, deep green eyes. He was lean and rangy, with a beautiful smile.

"You'd better be careful there, Ned, you're just looking for a lawsuit," Dave replied and the blond nodded.

Ned ignored the comment. "Nancy, this is Dave Evans and Burt Eddleton, my two best friends. This is Nancy Drew and if you start talking crap about me behind my back, just remember that we share a dorm and I will kill you in your sleep."

"Oh, he likes you," Burt said, shaking her hand.

"I can see why," Dave commented and Ned gave him a black look.

"Yeah, Ned, how'd you managed to talk a girl like this into going out with you?"

"Have you seen his car?" Nancy said, speaking for the first time.

All three of the boys laughed for a long while and then Ned explained that she had an even better car. Dave gave her a look of awe and Burt whistled.

"Seriously, how? She's got looks, brains, a great car," Burt said. "You've got a great car…"

Ned punched his arm.

"No, seriously guys, I'm not that shallow," Nancy said, shaking her head. "It's wrong to date someone just because of their material possessions. I'm dating him because he has absolutely gorgeous hair."

Again Burt and Dave laughed. Ned shot her a fake look of anger, but smiled as well.

"See you jerks later," Ned said, slipping an arm around Nancy's waist and leading her away from the boys.

When they were out of earshot, Nancy leaned closer to him and asked, "So. Did I pass?"

"With flying colors," Ned laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ned and Nancy finished making their rounds around the house. They sat as dinner was being served. Ned sat between Nancy and Burt, Dave on Burt's other side. The four of them were laughing and talking when a four boy came and asked if he could sit next to Nancy. They all nodded.

"Nancy, this is Phil Roberts," Ned introduced.

"Hi, I'm Nancy Drew," she said with a smile, shaking his hand and he smiled.

"Phil's dad is actually the head of the post office in Stanford," Ned said, giving Nancy a little look.

Nancy looked at Phil again. "Really? That's an interesting job."

"Eh," Phil moaned, shrugging, "but he does come home telling some funny stories."

He went on to tell some stories about a crazy old lady that came in everyday thinking that the post office was a McDonald's. They people at the table were all cracking up, but Nancy was interested.

"So, do you know anything about the mail and stuff?" Nancy asked casually, taking a bite out of her dessert.

Phil shrugged again. "A little I guess."

"Hey Phil, why would someone not have their mail delivered? Like they're supposed to get mail, but it's just not coming?"

Phil thought for a second and shook his head. "I can only think of the obvious answers. Either, one, someone's not writing to them or, two, their mail is being stolen."

Nancy and Ned looked at each other, a flash of realization going through both of them. Of course! Stolen mail! Why hadn't she thought about that? They tuned back into the conversation.

"So, let's say I wanted to ship a shoe to Thailand…" Dave was asking.

"Wait, one shoe or a pair of shoes?" Burt asked.

"I don't know, one."

"Why would you want to ship only one shoe?"

"Hypothetically."

"Okay, hypothetically, why would you want to ship only one shoe?"

Ned rolled his eyes and grabbed Nancy's hand. "Come on, let's dance."

Nancy almost choked on her last bite and nodded dumbly. Ned pulled her close as the music churned a slow rhythm. She closed her eyes, fighting an involuntary shiver that threatened to creep up her spine as she felt his warm breath on her neck. She clutched at the fabric of his white shirt more in a desperate attempt not to fall then anything else.

"You really look gorgeous tonight," Ned said softly in her ear.

Nancy blushed against his cheek. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you came with me tonight. It's kind of hard to concentrate on anything when you're not around. Then again, it's kind of hard to concentrate on anything else while you're around."

Nancy gave a twinkling little laugh and met his gaze. He was smiling. They barely had time to realize that the slow dance had ended when the couples around them started dancing to a faster beat. Like a train wreck, Burt slid between Ned and Nancy and began to dance spastically. Dave had joined them and Ned gave a devilish grin as he and Nancy kept up with the pace.

After a while of dancing, Ned went to go get the pair of them something to drink. Nancy was sitting at the now nearly empty table. Phil sat beside her suddenly and she smiled at him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he repeated. "Having fun?"

"Tons. This is great."

Phil nodded. "Can I ask why you and Ned were asking about undelivered mail?"

Nancy thought of a diplomatic answer for a moment before responding. "The truth is, I have a friend that is kind of in that situation. She's expecting something, but she's just not getting it. Why do you ask?"

Phil looked around conspiratorially and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "See, my dad's been telling us about a couple of people that have had the same problem as your friend. Were the letters… do you mind if I ask if the letters contained checks or money orders?"

"They probably did. Why?"

"Because my dad has been having this problem. But it's not just him. There have been a couple of other postmasters in the same deal. The Postal Inspectors Division said they'd look into it, but they haven't given it too much importance."

"My friend might be the victim of some mail fraud? Makes sense," Nancy said.

Phil nodded. At that moment, Ned came back with the drinks and Phil changed the conversation. The rest of the night went well. Ned and Nancy left at around ten thirty. The boys made her promise that she'd come again. Burt and Dave walked them to the car and then Ned headed back to River Heights. Along the way, Nancy told him about the conversation with Phil. Ned thought it was likely that Mrs. Swenson could be a fraud victim.

"The first thing I have to do is talk to Joe Swenson," Nancy said, more to herself than anyone else.

Half an hour later, Ned pulled up to the Drew driveway. It was about twelve when Nancy looked at the clock on the dash.

"It's half an hour before my curfew, we could've stayed a little longer at the party," she said.

"I didn't want to risk it," Ned replied, shutting off the car.

"What do you mean, you know we were going to get here early. You're just trying to suck up to my dad."

He shrugged. "A little kissing up never hurt anyone. Besides, now we have some time to linger."

"Linger? Why would I want to linger?" Nancy asked, confused.

For a moment, Ned didn't say anything. Nancy took in a sharp little breath as she noticed that he was suddenly a lot closer than he was a second before. She felt his breath sweep over her mouth enticingly as he spoke and she stopped breathing for a few seconds.

"Because," he whispered, his lips so close she could almost feel them as they formed the words. She gulped and her eyes fluttered. "Lingering is good."

Torturously slow his lips met hers in an electrifying kiss. He held his mouth to her for just a few seconds and pulled back a millimeter. Nancy's eyes were still closed and her mouth was dry.

"Lingering is good," she repeated hoarsely. "Lingering is-"

She cut herself off as she closed the gap between them, bringing her hands through his hair and holding onto the nape of his neck. The kiss deepened, wonderfully deep, and his hands splayed against her back, pulling her into him so that their bodies met and clung. When they finally parted, he placed two small, sweet kisses on her lips gently and then pulled back to be able to look at her.

She licked her lips and sighed. "I love lingering."

He smiled at her. "Me too." She laughed and kissed him again. "Come on, you should go in."

She moaned. "It's still only twelve ten. We have twenty more minutes to linger."

"I don't want your dad to give me primo spot on his black list on our first date," Ned said, hoisting himself out of the car with a small grunt.

"Wait, first date?" Nancy said, but he didn't hear her.

He opened her door for her and she unhappily obliged. Ned waited beside her as she looked for her keys in her purse. When she opened the door, the lights were on.

"Nancy? That you?" Mr. Drew called.

"Yeah, I'm home daddy," she called back.

"Is Ned still here?"

"I'm here, sir," Ned called in.

"Well, come on in, boy. Have something to drink before you head back."

Ned complied and he talked with Mr. Drew for a while. After a while, he said he had to go because it was getting late and Mr. Drew nodded.

"I'll see you around again. Soon, right?" Mr. Drew asked.

"Cross my heart," Ned said with a smile.

"Good. Good. Nancy, see him to the door. I'm going to bed."

Nancy gave Ned a look that her father couldn't see and he managed to keep a straight face. Nancy walked him back to the door and shut it behind herself, leaning on the wood. Ned slid his hands down her arms until his fingers intertwined with hers and kissed her for a minute.

"Your dad is a really cool guy," he commented when they broke apart.

Nancy nodded. "Glad you think so. He's a really good judge of character and when he likes someone, he likes someone."

"That's good."

"I'm sorry you have to drive all the way up to Mapleton again."

"Don't worry about it. I'll stay with my aunt. She lives really close."

"Does she know you're staying with her?" Nancy asked.

"No, but she will. I have a key and she stays up until like two in the morning watching her shows."

"Hey, listen," she said, looking down at the hand that was curled in hers and shyly playing with his fingers. "I didn't want to be desperate and everything, but seeing as you were talking about this being our first date, this led me to believe that you were planning for us to have a second date, right?"

"Right… I think," he replied, a little confused.

She gave a small, nervous laugh. "Good."

"Well, I would ask you out for tomorrow, but I have this thing with my dad."

"That's okay. Prom's coming up anyway and I'm on the committee, so tomorrow I kind of have to go to some stupid meeting to wrap up the loose ends. And then Saturday I have to help set up and stuff and then Sunday is prom. I'm sorry. If I'd met you two weeks earlier I would've made other plans."

His face fell and his grip loosened a little. When he spoke, his voice was kind of tight. "Oh. Okay. Don't worry about it. Have fun at prom."

"Well, that's kind of hard to do when you don't have a date," she said.

"Oh! Well, that's different. Wait, why wouldn't _you_ have a date? The guys at your school must have been asking you left and right."

Nancy shrugged. "I got asked, I just never said yes. No one had really seemed special enough… until now."

Ned grinned, more at himself than at her. "In that case, no one should go stag to their own prom. Do you think I can take you?"

"Well, if you insist," Nancy laughed.

He bent and kissed her. "So this whole setting up on Saturday thing…"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Nothing. Just wondering… do you need some help?"

Nancy laughed and leaned up to bring her mouth to his for a long moment. He took that as a yes. After a few more kisses, Ned detangled himself from her and said a real goodbye, getting into his car and driving away. Nancy stared after him for a minute, biting her lip and smiling to herself. She opened the door and stepped into her house feeling warm all over.


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Nancy Drew or any of the characters belonging to the series.

Author's Note: To my loyal readers: Thanks for all your support. I've kind of fallen in love with this story and all the characters. (Is that kind of pathetic?) I wish Ned were real. Anyway, I know there have been changes to the original (it's an updated version... what did you expect?) but i hope it has bothered anyone too much. I am aware that Burt and Dave (featured in the previous chater) are not in this book, but in the next one, but I couldn't find a way NOT to put them in. After all, it was a party thrown for Ned's frat house and they are part of it. that and the fact that they are Ned's best friends. This chapter was not in the original book AT ALL, but I thought it would be kind of fun to add it in. Kind of like a close to Nancy's high school days and an explination to why she will now have all this free time. And yes, i made harriet up, but every high school has _that _girl. the one we all love to hate. Anyway, enjoy and please, please, _please _review!

Chapter 11

"I hate you. That's it. I just… I hate you."

Nancy smiled at Bess's pout.

"You're just jealous," George stated bluntly. "You want some supremely hot guy to make out with you on your porch and leave you feeling all tingly on the inside."

"No shit, dumb ass. Of course I want so ethereal God to shove his tongue into my mouth and grope me," Bess responded.

"He didn't grope me," Nancy said, but she couldn't keep a straight face.

"Oh shut up, he did so and you liked it," George retorted.

Nancy just grinned. George threw her Jeep into park and the girls got out of the car. George started around to the trunk and swung the back door open, grabbing a box full of decorations. Nancy and Bess each grabbed a box as well.

"How did you guys manage to talk me into this crap? The one place I don't want to be is here, now, today," George groaned. "At school. Again."

"Come on," her cousin prompted. "It's just for couple of hours."

George pretended to cry. She kicked the gym door open and set her box down on the floor near the bleachers. Nancy and Bess followed suit and straightened. The gym was undergoing the beginning stages of transformation into the prom dance floor. There were several students from the committee already setting up and a couple of teachers. Mrs. Veejay, the head of the committee, was passing by and Nancy jogged to catch up.

"Mrs. Veejay!" she called and the woman turned with a smile.

"Nancy, hi. What's wrong?" Veejay asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I just need to ask you something. A friend of mine is coming to help set up. Is that okay?"

"Friend of yours?" came a high-pitched, grating voice and George groaned, rolling her eyes. Harriet appeared suddenly beside Mrs. Veejay, hands on her hips. "I didn't know you had friends at this school."

"Well…" Nancy began.

"You mean they're not from this school?" Harriet trilled, reveling in the opportunity to belittle Nancy. "Gee, Nancy, you should've known that's not kosher."

"Why don't you scamper off, Harry?" George asked. "Don't you have to, like, oh my God! Go, like, work on your cheers or something?"

"Oh, is the little tomboy frustrated because she didn't make the cheerleading team?"

"What are you talking about? You barely made the B squad," Bess spoke up, defending her cousin. She added with an evil little grin, "Harry."

"Girls, please," Mrs. Veejay intervened. "Can we stop this childish fighting?"

"Look, Mrs. Veejay, I don't think it's fair that Nancy just waltzes in here and demands that _her_ special friend comes and helps…" Harriet petered off, staring at the gym door.

Ned was standing in the doorway, hands casually in pockets. He glanced around until his eyes fell on Nancy and raised a hand to her with a smile, coming over. Nancy grinned back, more at the fact that Harriet's jaw had dropped and she was staring at Ned than anything else.

"Mrs. Veejay, this is Ned," Nancy introduced and they shook hands. "This is Mrs. Veejay, the best teacher at this school."

"Nancy, flattery will get you everywhere in life," Mrs. Veejay laughed.

"Nice to meet you," Ned said. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Intruding? Please," Harriet scoffed with an overly false laugh. "Isn't prom all about all friends coming together? You're welcome here, of course."

Nancy and Mrs. Veejay exchanged a look and the teacher walked off to finishing hanging some streamers.

"Nancy, you silly, aren't you going to introduce me?" Harriet asked.

"Oh, let me. Please," George said with an evil grin. "Ned, this is Harry."

"Harriet," she snapped, glaring at George.

"I like Harry better," Ned said, hiding a smile.

"But all my friends call me Harry, of course. I'm one of Nancy's good friends."

"You are?" Nancy asked, raising her eyebrows.

Harriet gave a trill laugh. "Of course! We always sat next to each other in physics."

"By force," George put in.

"Harriet!" Mrs. Veejay called out and the girl turned to look. "Could you come and help me hang streamers? Thank you."

Harriet fumed and gave a tense smile at Ned. "See you later."

"Bye," Bess crooned antagonistically.

When she was out of earshot, Ned scoffed. "What a tool."

The girls all laughed. They spent the day setting up the gym. The group bantered as they hung banners and streamers, set up tables at one end and Ned even helped to wax the floors. The teachers had ordered a lunch for all the volunteers and they sat at a table together to eat. Somehow, Mrs. Veejay managed to keep Harriet away from them. At the end of the day, Ned said goodbye to them, and the girls piled back into George's Jeep and drove home. Nancy and Bess spent the night at George's house, watching old horror movies. The next day, they all waited anxiously as prom time neared. The girls all met at Nancy's house.

Nancy was wearing a red strapless dress with a V-shaped neck line that pointed out slightly at the ends. It had a low back that was also in a V-shape. It was ankle length and a straight cut so that she couldn't really run. She had on strappy black shoes and dangling silver earrings. Her hair was wrapped into a loose bun, the front was pushed drastically to the side with little wisps of strawberry-blond flicking out behind her ears and framing her face.

Bess had on a pale blue ankle-length dress with spaghetti straps. The dress had a pale blued under-dress that was covered with a sheer over layer. It had two high slits on either side of the dress exposing long, creamy legs in pretty silver sandals. Her hair was molded into luscious golden waves that flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She had on a pretty white-gold bracelet and matching earrings.

George was wearing a black halter dress with a low back. It was up to her shins and a-lined so that it flared out. She had on pretty black peep-toes. The dress was simple, but she played it up with a vibrant red handbag and a matching shade of lipstick. She had rose shaped earrings on and a real rose in full bloom pinned behind her ear.

Mr. Drew and Hannah fawned over them and Hannah went picture crazy. George was complaining because in a moment of weakness she'd agreed to go to the prom with Michael Jones, a boy in her gym class. He was a cocky jock who had been bothering her since freshmen year. She whined, begging for them to let her ditch him. Bess shut her up. The first to arrive at the Drew was Bess's date, Jonathan Winters. Hannah took their picture. As she was going snap happy, Ned arrived. She instantly turned her attention to Nancy and her date.

"Okay, everyone's here," George said hurriedly. "Let's go now."

"No way," Bess demanded. "You're not getting out of this."

There was a knock at the door and George groaned. Mike came in a second later and Hannah demanded to take some more pictures. George cut her off after two pictures and forced the group to pile into the limo Mr. Drew had rented.

The gym was glorious and the music was loud. They found a table and sat. George and her date sat awkwardly beside Bess and her awkward date. Ned smiled charmingly at Nancy.

"Come one," he said, taking her hand and planting a little kiss on it. "We didn't come here to sit."

He pulled her close and danced with her. A few second later, Bess dragged her cousin and their dates onto the floor beside them. George shot her a glare. The group danced happily to the Michael Bublé song "Sway." Ned held Nancy close for a minute, then laughed and twirled her around. After the dancing, the couples all sat at the table.

"Want something to drink?" Ned asked over the music.

Nancy nodded, fanning herself with her hand. "Thanks."

Ned nodded and headed towards the buffet table. He grabbed a cup and ladled some punch into it. He raised it to his nose and sniffed, then grinned.

"Well, Ned! Funny to bump into you here."

Ned turned to look at Harriet. She was poured into a cream colored outfit with a billowing tulle skirt. He looked her over for a second.

"Harry, right?" he asked.

There was a hesitation before she forced what she believed was a coy, cute laugh. "Yeah, Harry. Harriet. Whatever." Ned turned and poured a second cup as Harriet smiled to herself. "Is that punch any good?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I haven't tried it yet."

"Oh, neither have I. I sure am thirsty."

"Here you go," Ned said, the smile on Harriet's face widening. A second later it dripped off as he moved aside, both cups in hand. "You can serve yourself. I'm done."

He left her standing there gaping. Ned smiled to himself as he sat next to Nancy. He handed her the drink.

"Here," he said. He grinned widely. "Someone spiked it."

"Someone?"

"What? It wasn't me."

"Well, it did take you quite a long time at the punch bowl."

"There was a line," he explained vaguely.

Nancy dismissed the issue, drinking the spiked punch with a smile. George leaned over to Ned from her conversation with Mike.

"I saw that," George whispered to him, giving him a look.

Ned smirked mischievously as the two of the looked over at Harriet sulking at the far corner of the gym near the punch bowl. He and George looked at each other and giggled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as they sobered.


	12. Chapter 12

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello all. Sorry I took so long to update, but I was on vacation and I wasn't able to get to a computer. To all those who read the last chapter and reviewed, thanks. You guys are great. Hope you like this one and I promise there is more to come.

DISCLAIMER: As always, i don't own Nancy Drew nor anything pertaining to it. But I do own Harriet (not that it's something to be proud of... but I do).

Chapter12

The girls and their dates arrived back at the Drew house at around twelve thirty. The limo driver, obviously frustrated with his job, tore off into the night, disappearing around the block. The group talked for a while until Bess and George's dates said they had to get going. The two cousins walked their respective dates to the car. Ned made a small move as if to leave as well, but Nancy casually put a hand on his arm, asking him to stay a little longer. He gave a smile only they understood and obliged.

Bess smiled, saying her final goodbyes with Jonathan, as he stepped into the driver's seat. They kissed each other's cheek in a friendly way and he drove off. Nancy grinned and craned a little to be able to see George and Mike. They were saying something to each other and then she leaned forward and kissed him for a moment. He got into his car and she gave a coy smile with a little wave as he drove away. She stared after the car for a second before rejoining her friends.

"So," Bess crowed, mocking her cousin. "Looks like your date went well."

George shrugged. "He's not as bad as I thought. We actually had fun."

"I should think so with a finale like that. You going to see him again?" Nancy asked.

George shrugged. "Nah, I didn't think so. He was okay, but not _that_ okay."

"Wait, but," Nancy floundered. "You just kissed him and you did the little giggle and sickeningly cute little hand wave…"

"Yeah, so? Kissing is fun."

"Girls are mean," Ned spoke up.

All three of them turned on him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nancy asked him.

"Yeah, all girls are teases."

The three girls looked at each other, eyebrows rising, and then turned back to him, arms crossed over chest.

"Are we?" Bess asked. "How so?"

"Look at you three," Ned motioned, but he was looking only at Nancy. "You plan things out perfectly so that you leave boys drooling over you. Okay, for instance, that first moment when you pick a girl up for a date, she always does that whole psyche-out shock factor thing."

"Psyche-out shock factor thing…" Nancy repeated, with an antagonizing look. "What is the 'psyche-out shock factor thing?'"

"You wait until we are distracted, talking to your parents or whatever and then you just kind of appear like this… mirage. One second you're not there and the next you are, sucking all the air out of the room so that it's hard to breathe. And these dresses you girls wear… come on."

Bess looked down at herself and George raised an eyebrow.

"I personally think I looked great tonight," George commented.

"You do and that's the problem," Ned continued. "The dresses you wear start off innocent enough. The trick is that you wear these dress that, while in the house, are pretty, dresses your father's approve of. What they don't know is that the second you walk outside or you lift an arm or you sit or something, that 'modest little dress,' becomes nothing but a tease. You find out that it has a low back or no back or a scoop neckline… and then you spend the whole night laughing and moving and talking to us… and then you pull something just like that. You kiss us and you leave us driving home like if we're mentally handicapped. But then you girls turn around and say, 'Yeah… kissing is fun.'"

They were about to say something when the front door opened. They group turned towards the doorway and saw Mr. Drew standing there. He smiled.

"I thought I heard cars coming and going," he said. "Ned! You're still here."

"Yes, Mr. Drew, I was-" he began.

"Well, come on in for a while. Have something to drink before you head home. Hannah made some chocolate chip cookies."

"Ooh," Bess cooed happily, making her way into the house.

Nancy smiled at her best friend, shaking her head and then the other three of them walking inside. Mr. Drew patted Ned on the back affectionately. Nancy paused in front of her father and he kissed her cheek. Bess had attacked the cookies and George was pouring glasses of milk. They all sat at the kitchen table, eating for a while.

"So, how was the prom? Everything you expected and more?" Mr. Drew teased.

Nancy rolled her eyes, chewing on her cookie.

"Well, it had its good parts," George stated, dunking her cookie into her glass of milk. "Like when Ned totally dissed Harriet and left her standing at the punch bowl."

"What!" Bess and Nancy exclaimed together, leaning forward.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ned said, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth as he ate his next bite of cookie.

"Wait, who's Harriet?" Mr. Drew asked.

"Harriet Bunch," Nancy explained.

"Oh God, Dan's daughter? The one who hates you?"

"That's the one."

"Ooh, this becomes interesting. How did he diss her?"

George began to tell the story from her point of view. They begged Ned to tell, but he just shrugged and smiled nonchalantly and said nothing. Finally they dropped it and there was a few comfortable moments in silence as they all ate their cookies and drank their milk. After another couple of minutes, Ned got up and said that he had to leave. He was staying at his aunt's house again, this time she knew about it. They all laughed when he told them that last time he had scared her so bad that she had run screaming into the bathroom and locked herself in. It took him about twenty minutes to finally coax her back out. Nancy walked him to the door as the others all went upstairs to go to sleep.

They stepped out onto the porch and Nancy closed the door behind them. Ned leaned forward slowly, gently pressed his lips to hers and lingering for a few delicious seconds. When he pulled back, she leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands went to her waist and he looked at her pensively.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "What are you thinking about?"

Nancy gave a laugh. "You already know me too well." Ned just shrugged, pretending to be modest. "I was thinking about Honey and Joe Swenson and Weston's factory. And about what Phil was saying."

"What about it all?"

Nancy caught him up on her progress, telling him about how she had seen Joe Swenson at the factory after Weston had told her that no one by his name worked there.

"I think he is working there. I think he's using another name. What I can't figure out is why he'd be using it," Nancy told Ned.

Ned shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't want anyone to know that he's Swenson? Maybe the guy is really guilty."

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"Okay," Ned nodded, holding her gaze. "But not right now."

She was dumbstruck and had a hard time remembering to breathe as Ned kissed her. She finally snapped herself out of it and kissed him back. After another few minutes, they broke apart.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," Nancy said softly.

Ned kissed her quickly. "That's for letting me come. I've got to go. I'll call you later."

Nancy nodded and leaned up to kiss him once more before he walked off the porch and stepped into his car. He drove off with a wave and she smiled to herself. She made her way upstairs and stepped into her room where George was playing a video game and Bess was filing her nails.

"So," George said, not taking her eyes off the game. "How'd you make out?"

Nancy threw a pillow at her face.


	13. Chapter 13

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, I'm back! I know that when this story first started I had a new chapter up almost every day, but work has been getting crazy and I'm slowing down. that and the new semester at school just started. AG! Crazyness. Anyway, thanks for all the support and please, if you like what you see, TELL ME! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nancy Drew. All right are bought and paid for by someone else.

Chapter 13

Nancy woke up at nine the next morning, Bess and George still sleeping soundly. She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, pulled her hair into order, stared at herself in the mirror from different angles for a minute, sighed in defeat and slumped out. She sat on her bed, thinking for a minute. After a thought, she picked up the phone on her nightstand. She rummaged through one of the drawers and pulled out a notepad. She found the number she was looking for and dialed it, biting her lip anxiously.

"Weston Electronics, how can I help you?" a monotonous voice asked.

"Hi, I need to speak to Mr. Baylor Weston please," Nancy replied quickly.

"One moment."

The line popped for a second and then it rang again. After the third ring, it was picked up by the sweet, familiar voice of Weston's secretary.

"Mr. Weston's office," she said.

"Hi, this is Nancy Drew. I came in to see Mr. Weston a few days back," Nancy explained as George, sprawled out on the bed next to her, groaned in annoyance.

"Yes, of course. Hello again, Ms. Drew."

"I actually wanted to speak to Mr. Weston about something really quick. Is he busy?"

"Let me check. Give me just a second."

The line went quiet as Nancy was put on hold and after a few second, the girl came back on.

"He'll speak to you. Just a moment."

Nancy was transferred once more and then Weston's shaky, insecure voice came on the line with a friendly greeting. Nancy returned it, not being able to help a smile. Half of it was because of Weston's trembling voice and spastic manner and half of it was because George groaned louder and shifted positions, clearly trying to convey her irritation. Bess, squeezed in beside her cousin, also tossed.

"Mr. Weston, I wanted to ask a favor," Nancy asked in the most coaxing voice she could.

"If I can help you at all, I will."

"I wanted to know if you could fax me over a list of all the employees your factory has hired starting from three weeks back."

Nancy winced, not sure whether she would get away with the vague request. But luckily, Weston was spastic and jumpy through and through. He didn't ask anything about why or how, he just complied.

"Sure, sure. Yes, of course. I'll, I'll, I'll make a call right away to my head of human resources. Right away."

"Thanks so much, Mr. Weston," Nancy said happily, giving a little jump.

George from beside her sighed and opened her eyes. She propped herself up on one elbow as Nancy gave Weston the fax number. Weston assured her she would get it within half and hour and Nancy thanked him again. She smiled and hung up the phone. She met George's poisonous gaze and the smile faltered.

"What the hell is anyone doing on the phone at the ungodly hour of," George paused as she looked at her watch, "nine fifteen?"

Nancy grinned. "I needed a list of recent employees from Weston's factory."

George groaned. "Do I dare ask why?"

"Because I think Joe Swenson is working there under another name. I want to see what recent hires there have been."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see if I can find him during his lunch hour. And you're coming with me, so get up."

George whimpered and flopped back onto the bed. Nancy rolled off her bed and walked towards the door of her room.

"Come on," Nancy demanded, throwing a pillow at George. "Wake Bess up."

George, pretending to cry, lay there for a minute before turning and smacking her cousin.

"Goddamn! What?" Bess yelled, scared and mad. She rubbed her arm.

"Wake up," George muttered, not moving herself.

"Asshole," Bess muttered, looking at the red spot where George had hit her. She smacked her cousin back.

Nancy skipped down the stairs and ran to her father's study. She swept by Hannah who looked after her, surprised.

"Whoa! You're up early," Hannah managed to say as she went.

She stopped in front of the fax and jumped around happily as she saw the second page of a fax coming in. She grabbed it when it was done and kissed it. She sat at her father's desk, turned on his lamp and hunched over the list. The cover page had the usual formalities. She skipped over it and the next page was a list was twelve different names of it. She began running her fingers down over the employees, muttering their names under her breath. At last she got to the third name from the bottom and stopped.

"Joseph Dahl," she repeated to herself.

Of course! It all came together now. Swenson had dropped the diary while running from the fire. And while he was running through the bushes, he lost his signet ring with a "D" on it.

"A 'D' for Dahl! It's got to be a name he uses often," Nancy said aloud.

She danced around happily. She wished her father was home to tell him about it, but had left for work a long time ago. Nancy regained her composure and began prioritizing what she had to do. First of all, she had to eat breakfast and get dressed. She walked back out to the kitchen where Hannah was making an omelet with ham, cheese, and onion. A few second later George stumbled in, followed by Bess. Hannah's eyes widened in mock awe.

"I thought Nancy waking up at nine was a shock, but here, before my eyes! A miracle!" Hannah mocked with a smile as she served the girls their omelets.

Nancy explained what she was doing and what she was planning to do. This woke Bess up immediately.

"You want to go _talk_ to him?" she asked.

"No, she wants to shave him," George snapped.

Ignoring George, Bess continued, "Nancy, what if this guy actually blew up that house? He's probably a raving lunatic and you want to go talk to him?"

"I have to agree with Bess," Hannah said. "Maybe the situation isn't that severe, but he could mean trouble."

"I don't think so. And besides, it's in the middle of a factory. What is he going to do? Kill me right then and there?" Nancy asked, finishing her omelet and putting the dishes in the sink.

She went upstairs with her two friends and they got dressed. They were out on the highway by ten and they got to the factory about twenty minutes before the lunch whistle blew. Nancy parked her car and then walked to the outside recreation area that had outside tables. They got there just as the last of the workers where streaming out of the building to find available spots.

"Shit," Nancy cursed. "It'll be hard to find him now. I wish we could've seen him when he came out. Well, come on."

George followed beside her, Bess cowering behind the two of them, glancing around nervously. Nancy began to think she'd have to give up when she saw by chance someone leaning against a tree. He was standing with a dejected slump. He was a fair-haired man, slight and rangy.

"There he is," she said excitedly.

He shifted on the tree and the girls saw his face, all doubt thrown out of their minds. George looked at her cousin.

"Oh yeah. A raving lunatic he is," she mocked and Bess glared.

"Better safe than sorry," she retorted with a huff.

"I need to talk to him alone. I don't think he's going to run or anything, but if he does, try to keep him from leaving," Nancy intervened.

"Oh, you mean, stun him with our ray guns?" George asked skeptically.

Nancy ignored her and started off towards the man. He must have been preoccupied because he didn't notice when she stopped beside him, sizing him up.

"Excuse me? Mr. Swenson?" she spoke up bravely.

He turned automatically at the sound of his name. He hesitated only a moment, but he wasn't all that surprised by the encounter. He certainly didn't look insane.

"Sorry, my name is Dahl," he replied in a deep, soft voice that carried a note of infliction. "Can I help you?"

Nancy was looking over the expression on his face. Although she didn't expect Joe Swenson to be crazy, she did expect something more pompous. Maybe defiant, sullen, snappy, even fierce and angry… but Joe Swenson had a kind face. His eyes were sad and his manners gentle. He looked… tired, exhausted and disheartened. Nancy felt it right then and there in her heart that he couldn't possibly have done anyone any harm, ever.

"Okay then. Mr. Dahl, I have news of your wife."

Instantly he forgot about any charade that he was playing to do with names. "Helen?"

"Well, the only Helen I know is named Swenson and-"

"I am Joe Swenson. Please, what about my wife? And Honey, what about my daughter? Are they okay?" he asked, worried.

Nancy gave a reassuring smile. "They're fine, Mr. Swenson. Both of them, but they miss you. And they're worried about you. Your wife is trying to find you. She wanted to know why she hasn't heard from you."

"Hasn't…?" Swenson was obviously confused. "That's impossible. I wrote to her to give her my address. I just didn't want to go home until I had cleared something up."

"Then you did try to contact your wife," Nancy repeated.

"Of course I did. I promised to send money home and I did. I sent her two pretty big money orders."

Nancy wasn't surprised. "I know for a fact she didn't get anything, especially money."

"What!" Swenson was obviously shocked, confused, and a little angry. "How is that possible?"

He paused for a second, his eyes sliding past Nancy to something behind her. George and Bess were coming forward, obviously noticing that Swenson was okay and not a flight risk. Nancy introduced her friends and Swenson nodded, shaking their hands politely. He turned back to the issue at hand.

"How is it possible that Helen hasn't received my letters? I sent it at the post office personally," Swenson said, his voice cracking from the strain.

The girls all shrugged, unsure of what to say. Joe Swenson stared at his feet dejectedly for a few moments and sighed. Then he reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a crisp, sealed envelope. He looked at Nancy, a pleading look in his eyes and he handed her the letter.

"I was going to send this today. Do you think you can please give it to her?" he asked.

Nancy smiled again. "Sure. No problem." She changed the subject then, making it sound as if she was only curious. "Can I ask you something? Why did you say your name was Dahl before I mentioned your wife?"

Swenson laughed, surprising them. "Trust me, there is nothing criminal about it. Just slightly superstitious. I know it's stupid, but Dahl was my mother's maiden name. I'm actually an inventor and my father's family has always had some pretty bad luck. Things haven't gone so well for me under that name either. But, my mother's family has always been quite successful. I thought if I gave her name, it would bring me better luck than Swenson."

"An inventor, huh?" George repeated casually. "Your wife had mentioned something like that. She also said something about some crappy deal with a jerk who buys patents."

"Crappy is right," Swenson burst out suddenly, out of character. "And the 'jerk' is named Felix Raybolt. He swindled me out of my invention and my earnings." Suddenly, Swenson sagged, sad and spent. He looked at the girls, sorrow in his eyes. "His house burned down, you know."

The girls all nodded and Swenson gave a small shake of his head. "I'm scared someone will blame me for it… if they find out I was there that day."

"You were there that day?" Bess asked, faking innocence with wide, unbelieving eyes.

Swenson hung his head in shame. "Yes, I was. I had an appointment with Raybolt. He'd told me to come that morning to talk about the patent. But when I got there, the house was dark, it didn't look like anyone was inside. I had just finished ringing the doorbell when the house… exploded. Something inside just went off and the house went up in flames. I called to Raybolt over and over, but no one answered me. I even tried to breakdown the door to make sure he wasn't in there, unconscious or something. The front door won't give, so I went around back. There were flames coming out from the back door and I couldn't get near it. I heard a car coming and I got scared, thinking that maybe I'd get blamed for it… so I ran through the back bushes and got away."

"You didn't see anyone when you were there?" Nancy asked.

"Not a soul, I swear."

"Do you think Raybolt died that day?"

"I could've bet my life on the fact that the house was empty. I didn't see or hear him inside, so I don't think so. Besides, the police didn't find any evidence of anyone having been inside."

Nancy nodded. She slipped a couple on sly words into the conversation. "The police have been searching the property for evidence or clues. Some things were picked up around the place."

He looked up sharply then. His face for a moment read as if it dawned on him that he might truly be a suspect. However, when he spoke the words were calm and casual.

"Maybe they found a diary. I lost it when I was there. It wouldn't really mean much to anyone except me. Me and Felix Raybolt."

"Raybolt?" George said, surprised. "Why would Raybolt care about your journal?"

"Because it has information written in it that he wishes was never written down. There is proof in there that the invention he stole is really mine. I've wanted to resolve the matter, but I don't have money to hire and lawyer and that journal was my number one evidence that the invention was mine and not his. I haven't been able to get anywhere without it. But that day at the fire, I dropped it. That day was terrible. I also lost a ring that meant a lot to me. It was an old heirloom from my mother's side of the family."

Swenson fell into a gloomy, depressed silence and made a hopeless little gesture with his hand. Nancy felt sorry for the man. She was almost sure that he was innocent. But Nancy wasn't the police. She had the journal in her purse with her, but she hesitated. Half of her wanted to give the journal back to the poor, unlucky man. The other half reasoned that she wasn't the police and it wasn't her decision to make. What if he _was_ guilty and she was withholding evidence from the police force. She thought things through and decided to hole onto the little diary until she learned the truth. Just then, the lunch whistle blew and Swenson snapped out of his fog.

He looked at the factory and grabbed his lunch tin. "I have to get back to work. Thanks again for the news of my family."

"What time do you get off from work?" Nancy asked.

"Five."

"Oh. Maybe we'll see you before we leave again." Swenson's face pulled into an uncomfortable confusion. Nancy smiled again and added, "I mean, don't you want to send some kind of message to your daughter and wife?"

Swenson measured his reaction and gave a small, tense smile. "Thanks, but I'll write to them again."

"Sure. Well, see you," Nancy said and turned, walking back to her car with her friends.

This was a weirder case than what she first thought. It was possible that Joe Swenson would run off again after being confronted. He was scared and exhausted, not thinking clearly. He had had too many close calls, too many disasters and Nancy wasn't sure if he could handle the possibility of one more.

Nancy let out a little scream as someone grabbed her arm hard, squeezing so hard it hurt her. She was wheeled around to face a cruel-looking, angry man.


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nancy Drew

Chapter 14

"Who the hell do you think you are? Get your hands off me," Nancy declared indignantly.

She tried to shake off the creep, but he had a grip of iron that she couldn't rid herself of. She struggled until George bluntly grabbed the man's wrist, shoving her thumb hard into the hollow where the main artery was and pulled back hard. The guy let go, still glaring angrily at Nancy.

"What's your problem?" George demanded.

"What do you want?" Nancy asked, angry and resisting the urge to rub the sore spot on her arm.

"I wanna know why you's gurls is slinkin' around here," the man replied in a guttural, menacing tone.

"What's it to you?" Bess asked.

The man hesitated for a moment and then said, "I's a security guy for this here factory and I's got a rights to know whatcha been talking to that guy about."

Nancy looked him over and knew instantly that this thug was _not_ a security guard.

"Oh yeah? If you're a 'security guy for this here factory,' where's your uniform?" George spat.

"I… uh… I's an undercover security man," he floundered, loosing the anger for a minute and replacing it with stupidity.

Nancy straightened, very convincingly putting on an air that said she wasn't afraid of him. She looked him coldly in the eye.

"The conversation was private and, consequently, none of your damn business," she said icily. "Now, unless you want me to go in and talk to Baylor Weston personally about your manhandling me, I suggest you move along and leave us alone."

"Just in case you missed any of those big words," George said patronizingly, "that means get out of our faces or we're going to get your ass in a bigger harassment lawsuit than you can imagine. You get me?"

The creep glared at them, obviously pissed, and the bravely stood their grounds, even though Bess was about to wet herself. But after a few seconds, he walked away. They all let out sighs of relief.

"Holy shit, I thought I was going to die," Bess sighed, leaning against the car.

"Don't be so freaking melodramatic," George snapped, rolling her eyes, but she was shaky as well.

Nancy was quiet, staring towards where the man had disappeared to, thinking.

"Aren't you scared, Nancy? That guy was freaking terrifying," Bess asked her friend.

"Yeah," Nancy responded, still looking after the guy. "And it convinces me even more that Joe Swenson is in some serious shit."

The fear was starting to dissipate now and the girls eased into their own skin again. They all got into the car.

"If we see Swenson at five we can ask him if he knows this jerk," George suggested as Nancy started up the car. "Where are we going now?"

"Yeah, where? I'm starving back here. I can eat a horse," Bess muttered.

"We know," George snorted. Bess smacked her from the backseat.

Nancy laughed and backed out of the space. "I'm pretty hungry too. Let's get something to eat."

The ended up at a crowded McDonald's, ordering their food and sitting at a back table. They joked and talked about trivial things. Bess and George started to tease Nancy about Ned again. She told them to shut up, that they were just jealous, but she blushed all the same. George, seeing the blush, smiled deviously and kept going. Bess egged her on. Finally, they threw out the remnants of their meal and got back into the car.

"Where to? Are we just going to kill time until Swenson gets out again?" Bess asked, sighing and leaning back in the front seat.

"Not really. I need to go to the post office and talk to Phil's dad," Nancy replied.

"Phil the kid from that frat party?" George asked. "What the hell happened to Ned? Now you're sucking up to this Phil guy's dad?"

"No, shut up. He's the head of the post office here."

"Phil?"

"No, his dad, you flaming idiot," Nancy barked. "I need to check something and I'm going to need him on my side for it. Now come one and please, please, _please…_don't. Say. Anything. At least not anything stupid."

Nancy walked into the post office and, sending a charming smile to the desk clerk, she asked where Mr. Roberts' office was. She was directed to it, said a thank you, and knocked on the door. It was opened presently by a middle-aged man who gave a handsome, confused smile.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Roberts asked kindly.

"Hi. I'm sorry to bother like this. My name is Nancy Drew. I met your son Phil at one of his fraternity affairs."

"Okay," Roberts answered, still confused.

"I actually needed a favor from you. Do you think we can talk inside your office for a few minutes?"

"Sure. Of course. Come in." he opened the door wide, allowing the three girls to trickle into his office.

Roberts stood behind his desk, waiting for Nancy to continue. She smiled again.

"I have a little problem that I think you can help me with. I have a friend who has mailed two letters here to his wife containing money orders and she hasn't gotten either of them. I'm sure that none of your staff is to blame, but I was wondering if you'd let me do a little experiment."

"What's the experiment?" Roberts asked with a smile.

"Well, if I can send the letter with the money order here from your office, can you see if it _is_ sent from here?"

Roberts hesitated for a second, grinning a slow grin. "You're a smart girl, Nancy Drew. I'm guessing if it _does_ leave from this office, you'll check the receiving post office and see if it gets there?" Nancy nodded, reciprocating the smile. "Phil told me about you, now that I think about it. He told you about the problem some of the post offices have been having with undelivered mail, I'm guessing? He said you were Nickerson's date. Good young man that Nickerson is. Great football player."

Nancy struggled to contain a blush and nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Well, count me in. Can I have the address?"

Nancy pulled out the letter, read off the address and watched as Roberts wrote down both the receiving and sending addresses. He looked up as he pocketed the addresses.

"Go mail it now and give me about two hours. I'll have something for you then. As soon as I personally go and check the mail bags."

"Thanks so much, Mr. Roberts. You're the best," Nancy said with an ecstatic, beaming smile. "I'll be here in two hours."

The three girls walked out to the money-order desk and Nancy bought the money order. She kept the receipt in her wallet and then shoved the letter into the mail slot. They walked out of the post office together. They were almost at the car when Bess spoke up.

"That's a risky little game you're playing, Nancy," she said in a cautious tone. "What if it all falls through?"

"Then I'll pony up the money to Mrs. Swenson personally, but I need to figure this out, because I can't be playing ferry from Swenson to Swenson all the time. And that way, at least that little girl can hear from her dad," Nancy said with resolve.

"So what are we going to do with two hours?" George asked.

Nancy shrugged. "We already ate, we already went to see Swenson. Want to see a movie?"

The girls shrugged and they drove to the theater they had passed while on their way to the post office. They watched a chick flick on Bess's insistence. George pretended to gag herself, but the movie was pretty good. It was funny, not too sappy, and George enjoyed herself. After the movie was done, they slowly meandered back to the car and drove to the post office. They parked and walked in. Nancy knocked and again Roberts opened the door. He had on a stern, hard face, but he let them in. He wasn't the only one in the office this time. A policeman stood, arms crossed over chest and looking harshly down at a man sitting slumped in a chair. The man glanced up at the girls and when he saw Nancy, hate blazed fiercely from his eyes.

"You!" he spat and the policeman made a small move as if to keep him from getting up.

Nancy looked down at the mail-order clerk, disgust and contempt clearly written on her face. She wasn't the only one, Roberts was also snarling down at the former employee.

"Thank you, Nancy. You managed to do what the Postal Inspectors Division kept putting off. A lot of help they were," Roberts muttered under his breath. "Ralph Ringman confessed to taking the letter and to taking all money orders of any size."

"It took some work to get the confession out of him," the police officer, whose name was Mark Johnson, said, "but he finally got smart about it. He had two accomplices also, a man and a woman that the officers in the parameter managed to get a hold of."

"Hey, I'm not the only one in on this deal, okay," Ringman protested angrily. "If I'm going down, I'm taking them all with me, damn it!"

"You don't think I'm that stupid, do you Ralphie? I thought as much and I made a couple of calls. A couple of my friends are going to try the same tactic that Nancy here tried," Roberts taunted with a smirk. "I should be getting some calls soon. You guys had it too good for too long and you got sloppy, stupid, and careless."

"I'll say," Johnson murmured.

"Was the accomplice, the man, a big, mean-looking thug?" Nancy asked on a hunch. "Big forehead, wide shoulders?"

"Stupid as hell?" George put in.

Johnson smiled at the girl and nodded. "Sounds like the guy. Interesting guy. Seems he was meaning to cash in on the deal directly. Told us that money order scams was for losers. Or, what he actually said was 'them little kid mail box games is for chumps.' Supposedly he was going to jump this Swenson guy from the letter at his job. Said some stupid broads got in the way and he freaked out. Stupidest thing he did was confront Ms. Drew."

"The dumb-ass son of a bitch!" Ringman cursed, clenching his fists angrily.

A person from the Postal Inspectors Division showed up a few minutes later and hustled Ringman out and away. Roberts promised that Mr. Swenson's letter would be sent safely now. Nancy thanked him, but he waved a dismiss hand and gave her his deepest gratitude for her ingenious plot. The girls walked out with Officer Johnson. He waved goodbye and opened the door to his squad car. The radio was sounding off, a woman's voice coming through, crackled and fuzzy, but audible. Nancy stopped cold suddenly as something she said hit her full force.

"…Weston Electronics. Possible use of an assumed name. According to a Gertrude Raybolt, may be hostile. Ran from scene of the crime at the Raybolt estate after an appointment with Felix Raybolt…"

George and Bess noticed Nancy frozen to the spoke, pale and appalled. They came back to her, worried.

"Oh my God, Nancy! What's wrong?" Bess asked, fawning over her friend.

"Yeah, you okay?" George asked, concern tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Joe Swenson," Nancy managed in a hoarse whisper. "They're going to arrest Joe Swenson!"


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER: As before, Nancy Drew ain't mine, though I wish it was...

Chapter 15

"What? Why!" Bess cried.

"Well, and this is just a guess now, but… maybe, _just_ maybe it's because he's suspected for blowing a guy's house up with him possible inside it?" George suggested.

"Cut the crap and drive for me," Nancy said suddenly, snapping to action, handing George the keys. "We have to get to Swenson before they do. He's innocent, I know it."

"Do you?" Bess asked, unsure. "Can you prove it?"

"Not yet, but I will. Come on. As soon as we get to the factory, I'll jump out and grab him, okay?"

George raced through town. Nancy the whole time was thinking of what she had to do. She'd get him in the car, show him the diary and have him translate it. She needed to know what was in there. George swung around the block that held the factory and sidled her car up alongside the back exit of the factory. The whistle was blowing and two minutes later, Joe Swenson walked out.

"Mr. Swenson!" Nancy called, running up to the gate.

Swenson whipped his head to look over and gave a smile of recognition. He waved and walked out of the gate and came to Nancy's side.

"Hello. Wow, you weren't kidding when you said-" he began, but Nancy interrupted.

"Can we give you a lift home?"

"Oh, well, that's kind of you. I'm sure it's out of your way though," Swenson protested.

"Not at all, come on. Get in," Nancy insisted, pushing him into the backseat with Bess.

She glanced up and down the street, listening for sirens, but heard nothing. She got in the front seat. George had kept the top up and she roared off. Swenson leaned back against the plush leather seats and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I really appreciate this," Swenson said, gratitude in his voice. "After being on my feet all day, its nice not walking home."

"No problem. By the way, your little letter scandal was cleared up," Nancy mentioned to him.

At that, Swenson sat up, eyes pleading for the story. Nancy consented and told him all the details. He smiled happily and thanked her, but made a comment about how people who commit crimes, big or small, deserve what punishment they are given.

"I have some more good news," she added. "I happened to find your diary near the Raybolt house."

"My diary!" Swenson exclaimed happily.

He watched as Nancy produced it from her purse, but instead of pouncing on it eagerly the way she thought he would, he took it gently, caressing it lovingly. He affectionately turned the pages. Nancy gave a small smile and Bess's eyes watered. She turned her face away.

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind translating a bit of it for me," Nancy asked softly as George began driving into the country, trying to get away from the men who were looking for Swenson.

Swenson nodded and began to read through his diary. A wide smile crossed him face. "This one is about my daughter's birthday. I'd made Honey a doll that walked by itself. She'd loved it and it was so wonderful to see her little eyes light up like that. I had always meant to sell those dolls and I never got a chance to." He flipped some more pages and his face darkened. He read verbatim, "'My friend, Anson Heilberg, has warned me not to go into business with Mr. Felix Raybolt. I trust Anson, but I am in desperate need of the money he promises to advance me. I do not think things will go badly.' I wish I had listened to Anson. Raybolt had given me an advance and not another cent. He kept all the royalties from my electrochemical process for putting a ceramic finish on metals."

"Asshole," Bess said aloud and then bit her tongue.

Swenson however just looked at her from the corner of his eye and gave a small, amused smile while the girl blushed in embarrassment.

"A friend of mine also found your ring," Nancy spoke up. "I have it at home. I'll make sure to bring it to you."

"You are kind, Nancy Drew."

Nancy slowly steered the conversation towards another topic. "Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the explosion at the Raybolt house. They think it could've been a freak accident. You know, like the microwave exploded suddenly or something, you know? What do you think."

Swenson was silent for a minute, then said, "I think Felix Raybolt had concealed explosives hidden in his basement. I'm almost positive of it. I think he blew his own house up by mistake while he was in it, waiting for me to come meet me."

Bess gaped at him, appalled at what he was suggesting. "But… but there wasn't an evidence of a body."

"Oh, Raybolt is too smart for that. I'm sure he escaped and then ran, knowing that it was illegal to have those explosives. Thinking he'd be caught and arrested, he ran and he hasn't looked back. The scum didn't even tell his wife I'll bet. Why would anyone want explosives anyway?"

"Did you see him run out?" Nancy asked.

"No," Swenson answered, loosing the bluster in his tone.

"Nance," George murmured in a low tone to her friend. She motioned towards the image of a police cruiser that had just come out of a little side road.

Nancy gave George a look that told her to stay calm. "Just keep going. Don't speed or anything, maybe they're after another car for speeding."

But both girls knew there was no one else on the road at the moment. The cruiser was gaining on them, but obviously not trying to pass them. Nancy bit her lip as a thought came to her. She hadn't thought about the fact that, if they were looking for Joe Swenson, she and Bess and George might be labeled as trying to help a fugitive. She tried to slow her heart down and sighed deeply. George gulped and gripped the wheel tighter. Up ahead there was a woman herding a couple of cows across the road, blocking them. The police car sidled up beside them and George cursed.

"Who the hell owns cows?" she snarled to herself. "Shit!"

But she tried to look calm and as soon at the cows were off the road, she took her foot off the brake.

"Just a moment, please," one of the officers said from an open window.

Joe Swenson's face was a stone mask. Nancy hid her fear and worry and lowered the window as George beside her cursed and ran a hand over her hair.

"Is there something wrong?" Nancy asked in the calmest, coolest tone she could muster as one of the officers alighted towards them.

"We had a cal to pick this car up," the officer barked in an overly pompous tone of voice. He looked in the backseat and Swenson looked at him, confused. "You Joe Swenson?"

"Yes…" Swenson responded confused. "Can I help you?"

"You can step out of the car. You're wanted by the Mapleton police on the charges of deliberate arson," the policeman barked.

"What? I never did any such thing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You have to tell them that at headquarters. You have to come with me. Now come on." He pulled out his handcuffs.

"No, please. I'll come with you. There's been a huge mistake."

"Whatever you say buddy. Just get in the back and make it quick, huh? No funny stuff."

"Wait," Nancy said, stepping out of the car. "You've got to have the wrong guy. Joe Swenson is innocent. I'll personally be in charge of his court appearance."

"I just started working at the factory. If you put me in jail, I'll loose my job. Please, officer, have a heart. I have a family to feed," Swenson pleaded earnestly.

The officer was unmoved. "Sorry buddy, you should've thought about that before you burned Raybolt's house down."

"Hey," George protested at the uncouth remark.

"You girls have to come as well," The officer barked harshly, feeding off his own pushed authority. "Drive ahead of me and you'd better not pull anything or you three will join your friend here in the backseat of the squad car."

"They have nothing to do with any of this," Swenson explained frantically, trying to vouch for them. "They just offered me a ride home."

"I don't want to hear it and frankly, I don't care. You all have to come to headquarters," the policeman stated in a loud voice, shoving Swenson towards the squad car. "And you'd better not go to fast."

"This is ridiculous," George exclaimed angrily. "For a buck I'd step on the gas and piss them off."

"Don't, we're in enough trouble," Nancy sighed. She hung her head as they started off in front of the cop. "Shit. My dad is going to kill me."


	16. Chapter 16

DISCLAIMER: Still with the not owning of the Nancy Drew...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you like this chapter guys. Sorry it took me so long. Thanks for the reviews and please, keep them coming!

Chapter 16

George was sitting in the drivers seat, fuming. Bess was on the verge of hysterical tears. Nancy was deep in thought, trying to think a way out of this situation. Possibly a way to get Swenson out of trouble. She was certain that he wasn't to blame about the Raybolt estate. George parked at the police station. Nancy hoped to see Officer Johnson there, but he wasn't. She cursed to herself under her breath.

The officers put the four of them together in a room. They sat in a stony, nervous silence. Each face held a different emotion. George was anger, Bess was fear, Swenson was worry, Nancy was determination. The cops kept them in that windowless room for a while.

George shook her head and leaned back in the stiff, uncomfortable chair. "Oh, what would dear old Ned say if he could see his pretty, little Nancy Drew now?"

Nancy glanced at her and smiled deviously. "Hey, he's saved us before. If things get real bad, we can call him to help us out. Again."

The girls began a desperate, nervous giggle when the door opened and two detectives walked in. The room went dead silent as the detectives sat before them all.

"My name is detective Davil and this is my partner, detective Rock," one of the officers said, shifting in her seat. "I'm going to need you to answer a few questions."

"When did you first plot the death of Felix Raybolt?" Rock spoke up suddenly in a harsh, brash tone. He pointed a thick finger at Swenson who jumped back at the barked question.

"Plot the… what are you talking about?" Swenson asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with me," Rock replied, shaking his head in disgust.

"I didn't plot anything, especially to kill anyone. You're just blaming me because you don't have anyone else to blame."

Rock faltered for a second and Nancy saw a chink in his armor. Rock recovered quickly though and snarled. "We know you were there at his house that day. We have someone who puts you on the Raybolt property and as soon as he comes in and identifies you, you'll be put behind bars so fast, your head will spin."

Swenson floundered for a minute, staring at the officers in disbelief. "The reason I was on that property was because I had an appointment with Raybolt about some business matters."

Davil took over, softer, more inviting. "Come on now. Everyone knows that Raybolt was a jerk. He robbed you, swindled you out of money, maybe? You got mad, it's understandable. So you went to his house, rigged a couple of explosives and gave that bastard what he deserved. Things will go much, much easier for you if you just admit that and get it off your chest."

"Whoa, whoa," Nancy interrupted. "That's crossing the line, detective. Mr. Swenson isn't going to say anything else until his lawyer is present."

Rock growled unhappily, but Davil played it smart and leaned back, looking at Nancy with a complacent smile.

"That's fine," she said. She looked at Mr. Swenson. "Do you want to call him?"

Swenson looked up at Nancy, confused. She looked at the officers.

"Can I borrow a piece of paper and a pen?" she asked politely.

Rock produced it and she wrote down her father's cell phone number and his name. She handed it to Swenson with a comforting smile.

"Here. Just tell him who you are and that you're a friend of mine. He'll come right away," she told him.

Davil held out a coin for Swenson to use and escorted him to the phone. Rock turned his gaze on the girls.

"Now, you three," he said, not as harshly as before. "What were you doing with Swenson out in the countryside?"

"We were just giving him a ride home," George replied, showing no fear in her voice. Bess nodded meekly beside her.

"A ride home, huh? And I'm guessing you knew nothing about him being wanted by the police."

"He's a friend of our, we didn't think we were doing anything wrong," Nancy replied, avoiding the actual disguised accusation.

Rock sneered at her. "Oh, and you aren't going to call a lawyer?"

"Don't you worry, sir, he's on his way. Fortunately, we have the same lawyer, Mr. Swenson and us girls."

"Oh, is that true?"

"Look, are you going to book us for something? We didn't mean to do anything wrong," George asked, exasperatedly.

Rock hesitated. "No. There are no charges against you three, but you will have to answer some questions."

"That's fine," Nancy said, relieved. "And Mr. Swenson?"

"Your _friend_," Rock drawled, "is looking at a charge of arson."

"If he's being charged with arson, why are you asking him if he killed Felix Raybolt?" Nancy asked, suspicious.

Rock was blown back by the question, recuperated and said to them, "I'll do the asking, if you don't mind."

George gave a snide smile. "You don't even know if he's dead or not. You're just guessing."

Rock glared at her, but said nothing as Davil and Swenson filed into the room again. Nancy requested to make a phone call as well and was permitted to do so. The girls were asked a bunch of question. Swenson was put under the spotlight. They only answered certain questions, refusing to say much more than what the officers already knew. Swenson said nothing much else, except that the girls had nothing to do with anything at all. After they realized that Swenson wasn't going to talk much, they turned back to the girls.

"We're going to need you names, addresses, and phone numbers," Davil said with a sigh, taking out a booklet. George went first, then Bess in a tearful, frightened voice, then Nancy. As Davil scribbled her information down, she raised her eyebrows.

"Nancy… Drew?" she repeated. "From River Heights?"

"Yes," she replied and George gave a snicker.

"Drew as in…"

"Yes, as in Carson Drew of River Heights," a deep, serious tone came from the doorway.

They turned to look at Mr. Drew and the girls all brightened with relief. Mr. Drew came in, setting his briefcase down on the metal table. The officer that had let him in, brought him a chair to sit in and as soon as the door closed, he asked the officers what the problem was. They briefed him on the charge facing Swenson, on all the facts they had. For a little while, there was no talking from the four sitting in chairs next to the esteemed lawyer. The officers turned back to Swenson.

"So you went to Raybolt's house, right Swenson?" Rock asked.

Swenson looked at Mr. Drew, who nodded his consent.

Swenson nodded. "I had an appointment with him that morning."

"What was the meeting about?" Davil asked.

"He had stolen one of my inventions. We were going to talk over the patent issues. I wanted to settle on the money he owed me."

"What did Raybolt say?"

"Nothing," Swenson said, straightforward and to the point. The officers were obviously impressed. "I didn't see him at all. There were no lights on in the house and I didn't hear anyone inside. The house was empty. When I rang the bell, no one answered and a few seconds later… the house blew up. I ran away."

"You left Raybolt in the house to die?" Rock asked.

"That is uncalled for and based on assumptions," Mr. Drew interjected. "My client says that he didn't hear anyone was in the house."

"He just said that he ran away from the house when an explosion went off without Raybolt."

"I don't think Raybolt was _ever_ in the house at all!" Swenson cried out, frustrated.

"No need to shout, just calm down," Davil said. "When did you last see Raybolt?"

"In a restaurant here in town," he replied.

"And you had an argument."

"Well, sort of," Swenson said before Mr. Drew could stop him. "We exchanged a couple of words."

"And that ended in a threat from you."

"No! Never! I swear to it. Look, from the beginning, Raybolt looked nervous, like if he thought I was going to hurt him. I wouldn't do that, not ever. He had all the markings of a guilty conscious; he knew he'd stolen my patent. Once he saw I wasn't going to hit him or anything, he laughed at me, admitted to what he did and told me that I was, quote unquote 'screwed.' I told him that I was going to take the matter to court. He got scared I guess and told me to come over to his house later and that we could talk prices about the patents. I agreed and that's when this whole mess started."

"What do you think started the fire?" Davil asked.

Swenson shrugged helplessly. "All I know is that there was a giant explosion and I practically flew back from the door. I was kind of dazed."

"And then?"

"Then, like I said, I called to see if anyone was in the house. No one answered. I even tried breaking down the door, but it won't budge and there flames coming out of the back door. I heard a car come into the driveway and… and in a panic I figured that I would get blamed for the whole thing. So I ran."

"You sure you didn't leave Raybolt inside on purpose?" Rock asked.

"You've crossed the line detective. Watch it or I will take up your actions with your captain," Mr. Drew snapped in a steel voice. "Officers, my client may have, admittedly, not liked Mr. Raybolt, but he certainly did not plot nor did he have anything to do with his suspected death. If in reality he is dead."

They drilled Swenson about dates and times, but they couldn't trip him up. It was becoming apparent that the officers, even Rock, were impressed with his straightforward honesty. Nancy thought they were on the verge of letting him go. Just then, the door opened and another officer poked his head in.

"Rock, Davil," he said. "Mrs. Raybolt is here. You want me to send her in?"

Davil was silent for a moment, still staring at Swenson and then nodded. "Yeah. Have her come in."

Nancy looked over at her friends and George mouthed a curse word. This was the woman who had sent them on Swenson's tail, she would make a scene for sure. Nancy prayed for the best, but as the woman shuffled in, she knew all was lost.

Mrs. Raybolt was sobbing and pale. Her very appearance inspired sympathy from the officers. She was obviously on the edge of a nervous collapse. She looked like she hadn't slept and had been worrying so much she had forgotten all about eating. She was giving off vibes of distress as she walked into the room with Swenson.

"Mrs. Raybolt?" Davil said soothingly. "Can you identify him?"

Mrs. Raybolt looked up from her weeping long enough to actually get a good look at the people in the room. Her eyes scanned over the girls, looked briefly at Mr. Drew, then stopped at Joe Swenson. Nancy saw uncertainty flash across her face for a few seconds. But the woman only hesitated for a second.

"That's him!" she yelled hysterically, her voice high-pitched and cracking. "That's the man who Felix went to meet. My husband was so afraid of him. He's a heartless, cruel, evil man who burned down my house and burned my husband alive!"

"This is completely uncalled for!" Mr. Drew stated, standing outraged. "This violates procedure entirely."

The officers led the sobbing woman from the room, but the damage had been done. Rock turned to the three girls.

"You girls are free to go," he said in a totally different tone. It wasn't the harsh tone he used to try and intimidate, this was a set, steady voice… it sounded almost dutifully disappointed. He didn't want Swenson to be guilty, Nancy realized.

Nancy started to say something about Joe Swenson, but a small, curt nod from her father cut her off. She withdrew into herself, fuming angrily. She led the way as she and Bess and George walked out of the room and out to the waiting area of the police station. Mrs. Raybolt was sitting on a bench in the front of the office, still crying into her handkerchief. Nancy glared down at the woman who had purposefully came in to make a scene, to make things worse for what Nancy knew was an innocent man. But no matter how badly Nancy wanted to keep walking and not even look at her, manners rose over her and she forced herself to stop by the grieving woman.

"Don't worry about your husband," she said kindly, surprised at how calm she could keep her voice. "I'm sure they'll find him."

Mrs. Raybolt look up at the sound of her voice and Nancy stepped back as she was met with the unexpected hate and anger radiating from the woman's eyes. Mrs. Raybolt stood to face the girl, almost crazed.

"You little bitch! You _dare_ say that to me?" she screeched. "You're with _him_! I'll bet you helped plot his death!" Nancy reeled back as Mrs. Raybolt slapped her across the face and pounced on her, yelling. "Officer! I demand that you lock this filthy accomplice up!"


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nancy Drew.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ta ta tata! Enter the hero!

Chapter 17

George and Bess jerked in surprise and Nancy staggered back from the blows that the insane, yelling woman was throwing at her. There were surprised outburst and a scuffle broke out as people ran to break up the one-sided fight.

Suddenly Nancy felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her out of the way of the waving, frantic hands. She was pressed against a broad, lean chest and caught a familiar scent. Nancy looked up, still confused, into Ned's angry, protective face. He was staring at Mrs. Raybolt, holding her tightly to him with one arm and holding another hand out, trying to stop the frantic woman. He had positioned himself in front of the girl's body to take the brunt of the beating. Mrs. Raybolt stopped lashing out with her hands as three officers joined them, but she was still yelling.

"You take that girl! You take her right now and lock her away! She helped that horrible Swenson man kill my husband!" she screamed, pointing.

"You need to calm down, Mrs. Raybolt. I advise you control yourself or you might find yourself in a hospital under psychiatric care," one of the officers, the Captain name Johnson said in a stern voice. "We will handle this case."

Mrs. Raybolt started to say something, but stopped and thought the better of it.

Nancy was just recovering. She shifted gently out of Ned's protective, comforting grip and turned to Mrs. Raybolt.

"I don't blame you for being upset or anything, but you've got to know that people are still out looking for your husband. I'm, sure he's alive and will show up. The fire fighters on the scene said that no one was in the house when it burned so he's got to be around somewhere," Nancy said in a cold, calm voice.

"Oh, yes? Then where is he?" Mrs. Raybolt spat defiantly.

Nancy shrugged. "No one knows," she said, then looked directly at her. "Unless _you_ do."

Mrs. Raybolt jerked surprised and emotion flooded her face. She sank back onto the padded bench and covered her face in her hands. The officers exchanged a glance and waited. George gave Nancy a look and Bess raised her eyebrows surprised. What was the answer?

Nancy knew that the answer should have been a yes, but she knew that as soon as the woman regained her composure, she would deny it. Mrs. Raybolt finally raised her head and she had on a mask of hard stone, nothing like a mourning widow as she stared hard at Nancy.

"This girl is… she's crazy. One of those nosy, know-it-all teenagers. Do me a favor, keep your nose out of other people's business. Why don't you stay out of it? Do _I_ know where Felix is? Do _I _know?! Of course I don't know, I haven't seen him or heard from him since the fire! He's dead, dead, dead I tell you! Dead!" Her voice ended in a high pitch.

Ned slipped an arm around Nancy again, tense and ready to pull her out of the woman's wrath again. Nancy slid a hand over his and meshed her fingers with his over the back of his hand.

"Sergeant Wilson will take you to your car, Mrs. Raybolt," Captain Johnson said. He turned to Nancy and the girls. "I'd like you to stay a minute please."

Nancy gave a little nod and waited as Mrs. Raybolt left. When she was gone, the Captain asked Nancy why she'd grilled the woman about her husband. Nancy gave a little smile.

"No one I've talked to or heard talk about Raybolt thinks he's dead," Nancy explained. "You know just as well as I do that he made his money by swindling and cheating people like poor Mr. Swenson in there. The guy was a crook and if you ask me, that's a really good reason to disappear. But if you were getting up and out, wouldn't you call your wife?"

The Captain thought about that for a moment and then looked at Nancy admiringly. "You're a smart girl. You take after your father. Believe me we're trying to find Raybolt. We've called hospitals, buses, airlines, hotels… nothing yet."

"Well, I hope you find him," Nancy replied. "Then he can clear Mr. Swenson."

The Captain didn't respond and Nancy looked at her friends. "Come on, we should go."

The others all nodded and walked out of the police station. Nancy hugged Ned tightly and smiled at him.

"Thanks for that back there," she told him, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she stepped back. "And thanks for coming down."

Ned gave his slow, awe-inspiring smile. "No problem. I'm just glad you thought to me with your one quarter. Now that all that is over with, I just want to ask why, why, _why_ are you three stuck in a police station?"

George gave a smirk. "According to Mrs. Raybolt the psycho it's because we're felons."

"Murderers, to be exact," Bess added with a nod, the fear seeping from her body.

Ned made a contemptuous face at them and looked to Nancy for a real answer. Nancy winced like a little kid waiting for punishment.

"Well, it's a funny story," she started. "We were just, you know, trying to help Swenson… avoid arrest." Ned gave her a look, raising his eyebrows and Nancy stumbled over her words. "Not that he knew he was going to get arrested. You see we kind of heard over a police scanner that he maybe was going to get picked up after the whole post office thing…"

Ned gave a sigh and shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a stern look. Nancy hung her head for a second and sagged.

"Okay, maybe I should start from the beginning," she put in.

"Just maybe," Ned replied.

Nancy related everything starting from this morning. Ned listened carefully, letting her speak and didn't interrupt. At the end the three girls stared at him, waiting for his response and he stood in thought for a minute, looking over the three of them. Then he gave a small, smile of false exasperation.

"Where to now?" he asked and Nancy gave a wide grin.

"I was thinking of heading to Stanford."

"Why would we go to Stanford?" Bess asked, confused.

But Ned had caught on. "You're thinking that maybe Mr. Weston can help you clear Swenson."

"Wait, what about your dad, Nancy?" George asked, looking back at the police station door.

Nancy glanced at the door a moment, the severity of the situation falling over her again and she thought before she spoke.

"My dad's with his client. He'll call me when he's done and we can found out went on in there later. We should just go," she told her friends and they started off.

George demanded to drive Nancy's car and have her go with Ned. Nancy blushed, but let herself be pushed into the decision. Once in the car with Ned she rummaged through her purse to find her cell phone. She dialed 411 and asked for the number to the Weston Electronics factory. As the phone rung, she bit her lip nervously and squeezed the edge of her seatbelt in a nervous fist.

Ned looked over her anxious, tense frame and unclenched the stressed fist, slipping his hand into hers. She met his gaze, a little surprised and he smiled comfortingly. She felt the butterflies rise in her stomach and she gave a smile back. After a few minutes she got Weston's secretary on the phone. Weston had left, but after being told that it was urgent, she gave Nancy his home number. She got in contact with him a few minutes later and asked if he would see them, at the spur of the moment and he said there was no problem.

They drove into the impressive Weston estate. It was a huge house with gigantic grounds. They were invited in enthusiastically by Mrs. Weston and Nancy introduced Ned to the jumpy nervous little man and his charming wife. Ned gave her an amused look, but said nothing at all. Nancy explained the situation to Mr. Weston and the man was obviously shocked. He stuttered, more than usual anyway, and said that he would call Swenson's manager to find out if there was anything they could find.

A minute later he turned back to the teenagers, a dejected face and shook his head. "Unfortunately, there's nothing… not a… nothing that can, uh, help. However, I'm certain that he couldn't have done the atrocious things he's charged with."

"How's that?" George asked. "Didn't he just start working here like three weeks ago?"

"Yes, yes, yes indeed… but, in that short time, Mr. Da-" Weston stopped himself and amended, "Swenson has been a great worker. In, in, in, in fact… I have a request for a promotion from his manager for Swenson here. Here, right here on my desk. Uh, yes, my desk."

"So you don't think Swenson is guilty?" Nancy asked.

"I'm sure of it. Swenson was a kind man and an ethical person. He showed us all that on a few occasions."

"So, if Swenson is cleared, will you let him have his job back?" Bess asked eagerly.

"Absolutely. Oh, yes, absolutely," Weston said and it sounded like the only thing he'd ever said that was as sure.

Nancy smiled. "You're a saint."

Mrs. Weston absolutely insisted that they stay for dinner and after a little prodding, the group agreed. They were served a four-course meal, which was cooked by the Weston's chef and conversation was light and pleasant. After dinner the girls and Ned said goodbye and went on their way. Out at the car, the girls lingered to talk to Ned.

"So, what do you think so far, Nance?" Bess asked. "This whole thing kind of sucks, huh?"

"Totally," Nancy replied, running a hand through her hair. She looked at Ned and he smiled knowingly.

"What would you have me do, oh great detective Nancy?" he said in a teasing tone.

Nancy laughed. "Well, you're a lot closer to Mapleton and you'd know anything before I ever do…"

"I'll see what I can find out from behind the scenes. I'll even go visit Swenson to see how he's doing and, how great am I, there's an 'and'?, I'll even go take his wife and kid over to see him."

"Oh Ned, you're so dreamy," George mocked, batting her eyelashes at him and cupping her face in her hands. "You're the best. You're my hero, Ned."

Nancy slapped her arm and rolled her eyes. "Get out of here."

Bess and George laughed.

"See you later Ned," Bess said.

"Yeah, don't strain your jaws or anything," George provoked and Nancy aimed a punch at her, but missed as she scampered away to the car.

Ned rolled his eyes at Nancy. "I really like your friends."

"You do?" Nancy asked. "Because I don't. Anyway, thanks again. It was really sweet what you did back at the station."

"Yeah, well, you can't let a perfectly good face like this get all scratched up, can you?" Ned asked, tilting Nancy's chin up.

Nancy caught her breath and closed her eyes as Ned pressed his lips to her. She responded to the kiss and after a minute they pulled away from each other slowly. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, then jumped as George honked the horn. Nancy glared at the cousin's as they burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I don't like your friends as much anymore," Ned told her.

Nancy just shrugged and said goodbye to him. He drove off and Nancy dropped the cousins off at their houses. She waited an hour until she heard her father com through the door and then sat to talk things over with him. They had incarcerated Swenson, but Mr. Drew told his daughter that he knew the man wasn't guilty and if they went to court, the prosecutions case wouldn't hold up and the police knew it. Nancy promised to find a way to get Swenson out of it and told her father about Ned offering to bring Swenson's family to see him. She then told her father about what had happened with Mrs. Raybolt. Mr. Drew fumed at the account, angry with the woman, but Nancy brushed the incident aside.

"What I want to know is where Raybolt is," Nancy pondered out loud. "I'm sure that his wife knows where he's hiding."

"I think so too," Mr. Drew said with a hint of a smile.

Nancy looked at her dad for a moment and then asked, "What are you hiding?"

"I happened to be given some interesting information today that can help us prove that Raybolt is hiding. I thought you might like to follow it up, seeing as you are personally interested in finding the man… and proving that stupid wench wife of his wrong."

Nancy sat like an anxious little kid, waiting for her father to continue.


	18. Chapter 18

DISCLAIMER: Again, like always... I wish I owned them, but sadly I don't...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello again, boys and girls! I'm back and (I'm hoping) better than ever! Enjoy! I promise to update soon. Read and review please!

Chapter 18

Mr. Drew paused, giving her daughter a look and she fidgeted.

"Come one, dad!" Nancy whined. "Cut the melodrama."

Carson laughed. "Okay, okay. Well, I told you before that I had a case about Raybolt, right?"

Nancy nodded.

"Raybolt had basically stolen Arnold Simpson's improvement to an automatic elevator. Anyway, turns out that Simpson was one of the many people who believed that Raybolt had things way too hot here. He is convinced that Raybolt took off, disappeared because things had gone sour here."

"Okay," Nancy said, a little confused. "That's great and all, but how does this help…?"

"I'm getting to that. Simpson is married, lives in Mapleton, and a couple of days ago she says that she had stopped at a gas station, you know, one of the ones with a quickie stop? It was just outside of Mapleton. Just as she was coming in, a beat up hunk of junk was pulling out. She said that the person driving was about as beat up as the car. She only caught the driver in a side-glance, but she is absolutely positive that it was Felix Raybolt."

"No way!" Nancy cried, surprise, a smile coming onto her face. "The jerk is using some stupid disguise. What a-" she was about to say something else, but caught herself when her father gave her a stern look and smiled sheepishly, "-rotten, rotten man."

Carson nodded. "I thought so. Anyway, Mrs. Simpson asked about him in the store. The attendant had no idea who the guy was, but he said he bought a bunch of canned foods. Things like bread in tins and all that kind of stuff."

"Camping stuff it would seem."

"Yes. Of course, she could be wrong. It could be that it's not Raybolt at all. The clerks had never seen him before, said he just came in, got what he needed and got back out quick. But I thought it would be worth a shot at checking out."

"Hell yeah! I'll go to the store tomorrow morning and see what I can find out," Nancy agreed.

"Not without someone. Bess and George probably. Of course… you could recruit more apt protection…" Mr. Drew started with a teasing grin pulling at his lips.

"Dad…" Nancy warned.

"What? All I'm saying is that I know a certain person who wouldn't mind driving to meet you… I think he's a football player at a college maybe? God, what was his name?"

"Dad…" she warned again, more menacing.

But Mr. Drew wasn't finished putting on his charade. He tapped his chin and looked like he was thinking hard. "Ted… Red… oh, yes. That's it. Ned Nickerson."

"Shut up!" Nancy replied, laughing and pushing her father who laughed with her.

Nancy called the two girls to ask them to come with her. George agreed enthusiastically. Bess was a little more cautious.

"You really think we should go up and try to find some desperate, and might I add, creepy guy in the middle of nowhere?" she asked. "Not exactly appealing."

"Come on, don't be a baby. Come with me, please?" Nancy begged. "Besides, we have George, the judo master. She can totally take out Raybolt if need be."

"Yeah, okay. George thinks she can take down a full grown, angry male grizzly. Look, I don't care what George _thinks_ she can do, I just want to come home alive… and preferably in one piece."

"You will, I promise."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. See you tomorrow you big jerk," Bess mumbled and hung up before Nancy could answer.

The next morning they headed up to the store. George was sleeping in the back and Bess and Nancy were talking in the front seat. It was idle chitchat, the kind you make when you don't really have anything to talk about, but you still talk anyway.

"So," Bess said, looking out the window. "You have Ned as your delivery boy now. You're hot as hell delivery boy, might I add."

Nancy gave a wide grin, flashing her teeth. "Hotter than hell."

"You're a bitch, man," Bess laughed. "You're totally using him."

"What? No I'm not. Why do you say that?" Nancy asked, pouting.

"Because. You're taking advantage of the fact that the guy has the major hots for you and would walk barefoot on hot coals for you."

"He doesn't have the major hots for me…"

"Oh my God. Can you say 'denial?' Please? You float the man's boat, you are the bee's knees, and I'm sure he'd like you to tickle his pickle." Nancy hit her playfully as she laughed. "The guy is head over heels. 'I'll go visit Swenson to cheer him up. I'll take his family to see him. I'll help you decorate your high school prom. I'll drive two hours to come down and see you every other day.'"

"He doesn't come every other day," Nancy retorted, blushing.

"Practically," Bess replied, rolling her eyes.

"He's just… considerate," Nancy said.

"My ass," George piped in from the back. She was resting against the door, arms crossed and her eyes stilled closed as if she was sleeping.

Nancy glared at her quickly and pulled into the gas station. There was a large 7-eleven continence store, a mini-grocery store. The girls got down, George yawning, and walked in to talk to the clerks. After they had made sure they were the same ones that Mrs. Simpson talked to, Nancy started asking questions.

"Have you seen that guy again?"

"The bum with all the canned stuff? Nope. Never came back," one of the teens replied. He was acne ridden and had stringy black hair.

The other boy was pretty good-looking with surfer boy blond hair and sleepy looking hazel eyes. He gave a little smile. "He never had to. That dude bought enough food to last him about a month. Dude looked like he had serious problems."

"Like if he had a bunch of pissed off clients wanting to lynch him?" George asked.

"Like if… what?" the surfer-dude asked, squinting and confused.

"Do you know which way he went?" Nancy asked. "I mean, when he drove off?"

"Sure, down that way," acne-guy replied, pointing. "Had a piece of shit car that coughed up so many fumes we could smell it in here."

"Why do you girls care? He a boyfriend that skipped out or something?" surfer-dude asked.

"Oh, please," Bess scoffed. "Not in this lifetime."

Surfer-dude smiled at her. "So, you don't have a boyfriend?"

Bess gave a coy smile and leaned forward. "Not at the moment."

"Really? Because, you know, I-"

"Okay, we gotta go," George said loudly, bodily yanking Bess out the door with her.

Bess yelped in protest and followed her friends angrily to the car. "You suck. Dip-shit."

George just snorted and got in the car beside Nancy. They girls drove in the direction the boys had pointed. They looked for a sign of something, anything.

"All right," Nancy said after a while. "If you were a dickweed trying to get out of a bad deal, where would you go?"

"If I knew about that creepy-ass cabin in the woods near Stanford, probably there," George answered.

"Creepy-ass shack?" Bess repeated, leaning forward.

"Yeah, but we were at the creepy-ass shack after Raybolt disappeared and it was empty. And empty for a while," Nancy said, shaking her head.

"Again, creepy-ass shack?" Bess said again.

The other two ignored her. Nancy chewed on her lip.

"Where else would Raybolt hide?" she asked, more to herself than anyone.

"Well if he's not in the first 'creepy-ass shack,' how about a different 'creepy-ass shack'?" Bess muttered under her breath.

"Bess, you're a genius!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Wait, what? No! No, no, no! I didn't mean let's go hunting for creepy-ass shacks. Shit," Bess wailed, leaning back in her seat unhappily.

Nancy's driving had slowed to a crawl along the narrow road. She stared fixedly on the road in front of her for a long while, George and Bess confused.

"Uh… we know you're a little reckless behind the wheel and all, but this is taking it to the other extreme, don't you think?" George commented, raising her eyebrows at her friend's caution.

Nancy slammed on the brakes suddenly, throwing the girls forward in their seat. Bess and George grunted, the wind knocked out of them. They gaped at Nancy who was staring at a spot on the side of the road.

"Look!" she said, pointing.

It took the girls a little while before they saw what Nancy was pointing at, but finally they noticed to faint lines in a little used road. They were tire tracks. George met Nancy's gaze and reciprocated her gung ho grin. Bess looked from one to the other, appalled.

"No way! You guys are freaking crazy!" she cried, but Nancy was already turning into the small road. Bess changed her tactic. "You'll screw up your car forever going down that way."

To her surprise and George's Nancy sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

She drove on a little further, Bess smiling smugly and George gaping horrified at Nancy. But the expressions soon changed as Nancy pulled under a hidden knot of overhanging tree limbs and parked the car.

"Yes!" George hissed.

"No!" Bess wailed.

Nancy got out of the car, oblivious to both remarks and locked the doors. She pocketed the car keys and waited until her friends had joined her. Bess was angry and scared, George was beaming brightly, anxious to get started. They headed back to the little road and started walking up it, following the car tracks. The going was rough and Bess began to whine. George snapped at her. Finally, Bess got so persistent, the girls stopped halfway up to rest. George, annoyed, plopped down on the grass ad fumed to herself.

Bess was still pouting. "It's creepy out here."

George glared up at her. "Oh… is witty bitty Bess scawed? Poor wittle baby."

"Shut up, ass-face!"

"God, both of you stop it already," Nancy interrupted. She sighed and after a moment of silence added, "It's really quiet here. Kind of peaceful. You could almost- holy hell!"


	19. Chapter 19

DISCLAIMER: You know the drill...

Chapter 19

The three girls sat paralyzed as the deafening buzz of a chainsaw cut through the still air. A few seconds later, they head a pop and a loud crack. Then it seemed as if the earth was moaning. A second later, there was an incredible crash. The girls, their hearts now slowing down after the fear, looked at each other and breathed again. George gave a wide grin.

"Timber," she said after the fact.

"A little later, don't you think?" Bess said, still kind of mad.

"Well, wherever Raybolt is, we can be sure that he wouldn't be near someone who is lumbering. Too much noise," Nancy said. "Still, the logging people might have seen him. Or at least his car. Come on, I don't think we're far. Let's head over there."

They started off again. The sounds of falling trees and chainsaws grew louder. They stepped into a clearing and in the distance they saw the operation of men. Land was being cleared for a housing complex. Nancy spotted someone who she thought was the foreman. He was tall and husky, kind of young to be a foreman. She made a beeline for him and smiled charmingly when he turned to her.

"Hi," she said and her friends smiled behind her.

"Hello," he replied, but he was confused. What were three girls doing plodding around in the middle of the woods? "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you guys used that front entrance to get to this area."

He shook his head. "That's someone's property. We come in the back way. A little longer, but worth not getting sued. Where you coming to see the clearing?"

The man looked almost a little nervous. She realized that he thought she might be an inspector. She gave him a comforting laugh and shook her head. "We're not inspectors or anything, if that's what you mean."

The foreman breathed a sigh of relief and laughed as well. "You scared me. I was thinking that they were starting them off young. I'm Tim Murphy. Anything I can help you with? You looking for someone or something?"

"Yes, actually," Nancy grinned. "Have you seen a… a…." she searched for the right word.

"A bum in a shitty car?" George put in for her.

"Yeah, you know. All shabby and dirty-looking?" Bess added.

The foreman's answer surprised them. "In fact, I think I know who you're talking about. He _was_ here. This development has been held up with permit crap and red tape. We just started up again a little while ago. Every time it would rain, we would go to this abandoned shack not too far from here. Two days ago we went over there and the guy scared the crap out of us. He came out with a shotgun and told us to get the hell off his land. He looked mangy and his clothes… well, they've seen better days."

"Did you see his car?" Bess asked.

"Yeah, some big black tank that looked like it was driven through World War II," Murphy replied, making a face. "That they guy you looking for?"

"Yeah, but if he's got a shotgun, we aren't going anywhere near the psycho," Bess murmured.

Murphy laughed. "You won't have to worry about that. He left."

Nancy's face fell. That shattered all hope she had of finding Raybolt. "When did he leave? Do you know?"

"Uh, sure. During the night I think. And it didn't look like he was coming back. He looked like a total hermit. I think he wanted to be alone and right next to a brand new housing development isn't the ideal place for a recluse. Can I just ask why you girls are so interested in a hobo like that?"

The girls all hesitated, Bess and George looking at Nancy for an answer. Murphy waited, interested. Nancy opened her mouth to respond.

"Hey, Murphy! We need you over here, pronto!" a worker called out, saving the girls.

Murphy smiled hurriedly at the girls. "Sorry. I have to go. Hope I helped."

"You did. And thank you so much," Nancy replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

The girls headed back to the car. They were silent, thinking to themselves until they had passed the spot where they had stopped before. Bess didn't whine or complain, so they kept going, but George spoke up.

"You think crazy shotgun guy was Raybolt?"

Nancy shrugged. "You know as much as I do. But whoever he was, he sure acted guilty of something."

"Yeah, but what if he was just some cranky old hermit who doesn't like people around?"

"Then why leave? If he was a hermit, he would have fought tooth and nail for his little place and for the housing development to go, not him. Again, he just seems guilty. Guilty and he doesn't want anybody around."

"Which makes me think it _is _Raybolt," Bess spoke up. "And it also makes me think that I don't want to go _anywhere_ near Raybolt and his shotgun. I think we should give this up."

Nancy answer surprised both of the girls. "I would've agreed…if I were sure. But all we know is that there's a shabby hobo with a shotgun somewhere in the world. And I want Swenson out of jail, I want him out. I want that family okay for once in their lives and goddamn if I'll let a prick like Raybolt spoil that. I _know _that he and his wife are in on this together. I want to find him before he can leave the country."

"And you think he'll do that?" Bess asked, wide-eyed.

"I am positive. I've never been more positive of anything in my life. They're just waiting to collect on that fire insurance and they'll probably meet up in some foreign country."

"Probably France," George grated. "They'll blend right in there with their friend, the lovely Maplecroft Inn clerk."

Nancy smiled at her friend. "Speaking of which, who wants to eat lunch there?"

"Ha, ha. Ha, ha. Ha," George huffed sarcastically, flicking her off. "No thanks. I would like to stay _un_arrested by Mrs. Raybolt. And as much as I want to see my favorite little French asshole… no."

The girls drove to a nice roadside restaurant. They sat at a nice secluded table. There was a nice din of conversation so they couldn't be overheard.

"What I wouldn't give for that asshole's asshole wife to take the money and run. He wouldn't be able to do jack shit about it without getting caught," George muttered, playing with her straw.

"I wouldn't put it past her, either," Bess said. "That woman is the she-devil."

They ate, talking of other things, then Nancy mentioned that she wanted to visit Mr. Swenson. They nodded and headed out. They got to headquarters at about three in the afternoon. She asked to see him and the sergeant in charge of prisoners looked at a book.

"He was just brought to one of the waiting rooms," he said. His voice became a little sad. "His kid came to see him. Didn't want the girl to see him behind bars. His wife is there too."

"Really? We're really close friends of theirs. Do you think we could go back there?" Nancy asked.

The officer thought for a second, then nodded, leading the way. When Nancy walked into the room, Honey leapt at her. She hugged her excitedly, then moved onto Bess and George. She stayed cradled protectively under George's arm, the older girl gently stroking her hair. The Swenson's were happy to see them and gave them small, sad smiles. Mrs. Swenson looked like she'd been crying for a long time and her husband's eyes were red-rimmed.

"It was very sweet of Ned to bring us here," Mrs. Swenson said. "He said he'd come back in about an hour. He should be here in about fifteen minutes."

Nancy smiled at the woman. She told Mr. Swenson of her meeting with Baylor Weston and he brightened when he learned that his position was being held for him. Nancy looked back at George and gave her a look. George nodded understandingly.

"Hey, Honey, why don't we go see if Nancy has any candy in her car?" George suggested.

Honey, not as hyper as usual, nodded dumbly and followed the two girls out of the waiting room. She wasn't stupid, she knew her father was in trouble and she didn't know why. The thought scared her. Nancy was left alone with the couple. Joe was hugging his wife firmly and she began to weep again.

"You're the only one who can help us, Nancy," Helen wept. "You've been so kind. You and your friends and your father. Your father! We don't even have the money to pay his fee."

"Don't worry about that," Nancy said, waving her comment away.

"No, but Nancy, we-"

"Don't worry about it," she said in a final tone. "My father told me he's happy to help, trust me. And if there is a trial, which I don't think there will be, he'll continue to help. I'm hoping that I can prove you're innocence."

"The book you have may help," Swenson said guardedly.

Nancy nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. Mrs. Swenson was still crying softly, just now getting under control. Nancy smiled at the two of them then said goodbye, promising to send Honey in. She knew they wanted to be alone. When she walked out to the lobby, George, Bess and Honey were waiting, talking to someone who had their back to her. George's eyes slid past the guy and landed on Nancy. The person turned and flashed an impressive smile at Nancy. She grinned back.

"Hey Ned," she greeted happily. She turned to Honey. "Why don't you go back and talk to your Daddy for a while?"

Honey nodded. "Thanks."

They watched her go, then Ned turned to Nancy. "So. What do you think? George and Bess have been updating me."

"Good, then I won't have to and I can get straight to the juicy stuff," Nancy said, rubbing her hands together. "Swenson just told me that there is something in the diary that can clear him."

"He did?" Bess asked.

Nancy shrugged. "In so many words, but that's exactly what he meant. I'm going to call Mr. Peterson from the bakery and see if he's well enough to see me."

"You're nonstop, you know," Ned said with a amused, affectionate smile.

"Thanks. Anyway, I was going to pass by while on the way down to River Heights," Nancy said.

"So no chance for grabbing a bite or something while you're here?" Ned asked, his voice a little sad.

"Aw," George murmured. "Puppy love."

Ned made a face at her. "I was going to pay for you. Now you can eat all by yourself."

"Don't listen to her, Ned," Bess said, shoving her cousin. "She's a dickhead."

Nancy laughed and said, "Thanks, but we can't. However, don't plan on staying home too long. I'm going to need your help tonight."

"Are you now?" Ned asked. "What for?"

"I'll call you later. Keep your cell on," Nancy said, grabbing her keys from her bag. "See you."

George and Bess started out of the police station, Nancy following, when Ned grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. He kissed her quickly, gave her a knee-weakening smile and let her go. She stood for a second, trying not to loose all control of her legs, which felt like jelly and smiled back.

"See you tonight," he called after her as she left.


	20. Chapter 20

DISCLAIMER: Not with the owning...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Enjoy and review, please.

Chapter 20

"So, what are you two lovebirds going to do tonight?" George asked, drawing out the word "lovebirds."

"Us two? You guys might be coming to," Nancy replied.

"Uh… Nance, I like you and all, but I don't swing that way," Bess said, giving her a look.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you pig. There's something in this diary and it may give us the clue to finding Raybolt. I'm thinking if Mr. Peterson is feeling okay, we can get him to translate it and then we'd be able to wrap this up tonight."

"Tonight? As in _tonight_, tonight?" Bess asked, groaning. "Aw, come on, man!"

"What can possibly be more important than this?" George asked.

"I wanted to take a nice long bath and wash my hair…"

"So, nothing."

"No, not nothing," Bess snarled. "I was _supposed_ to go out with Jeff Allen tonight. In fact, I was supposed to go out with Jeff Allen a while ago and I've rescheduled it three times already. Damn. Whatever, I'll just tell him tomorrow."

"I'm sorry I've screwed up your dating life," Nancy said sincerely. "You want me to drop you off home first then?"

"Don't worry. My dating life has survived more crippling blows, but yeah. I need to make dinner for my father anyway."

"In fact, I kind of need to get home too. My mom threatened to kill me if I didn't clean my room today and if you're going to need me tonight…" George said with a shrug. "Well, let's just say that I'm no good to anyone dead."

Nancy laughed and headed for the cousin's separate houses. They were dropped off, then Nancy headed out towards Peterson's bakery. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the bakery number. Karen answered the phone. She asked how Mr. Peterson was and was relieved to hear that he was a lot better. After a short delay, Karen told her that Mr. Peterson was waiting to see her and that he was excited that she was coming by. Nancy grinned happily and hung up the phone. She drove into the bakery and walked in.

"Hi Karen," she greeted to the girl behind that counter.

"Hey Nancy," she replied, looking up from her task. The family she was attending smiled a thank you and headed out of the store with their box of sweets. "He's waiting for you upstairs in his room. He said to just go on up."

"Thanks."

The reunion with the elderly Swedish baker was a happy one. Nancy was surprised to remember him so well. Memories of her childhood flooded through her. She used to come with Hannah Gruen all the time and order sweets. Mr. Peterson fawned over how beautiful she was. He asked about her father and about Hannah.

"You look just like your mother," he said in his soft, sweet voice.

Nancy gave a smile. "Thank you. How are you feeling."

Peterson waved her concern away. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. So, tell me, dear one, what is it you wanted to speak to me about? Karen had told me you had called before my visit to the hospital."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you if youwould do me a favor."

"Anything, child."

"Would you mind translating a Swedish diary?"

"Diary, you say?" the old man said with a twinkle in his eye and a kind smile. "No, not at all. In fact, I have always been interested in diaries. You see, all throughout history, some of the most interesting and well-respected people kept clear, day to day accounts of their lives and this has helped to piece together the sequence of history."

"Really? Like who?" Nancy asked, leaning forward in her chair, interested.

"Lot's of people such as Queen Victoria of England, George Washington… even Christopher Columbus. Oh, yes, his was a very important account. Did you know that when he first saw the coasts of Cuba, he thought that they were landing in Japan?" He laughed along with Nancy, then nodded his head. "Yes, diaries are a wealth of information."

Nancy reached into her bag and produced the little leather-bound journal. She handed it to him. The baker took a few seconds to get his glasses from the table next to him chair and looked down at the book. He gently caressed the worn cover, then began to leaf through the pages.

"The writer is an inventor, I see," he said after a moment. "And seems like quiet a decent person."

"He is," Nancy replied soberly and sat back to listen as Oscar Peterson began to slowly translate the passages of the diary. After about half an hour, Nancy stopped him, saying, "Mr. Peterson, if you are tired, please, stop. I don't mind coming back later."

"Nonsense, child. I am fine, don't fret," he replied and continued.

At Nancy's request he flipped ahead towards the pages where Raybolt began appearing. Nancy leaned forward as Peterson began reading a passage that detailed Swenson having met with Raybolt for the first time. He mentioned that he would show him his drawings and the instructions for his electrochemical processing. He handed everything over to Raybolt. Raybolt had given him a check for two thousand dollars and promised him that he'd have a fifty-fifty split of the royalties as soon as it was patented. Nancy brightened, this was obviously hard evidence that Raybolt had stolen Swenson's original invention.

"'Raybolt is a shrewd man,'" Peterson translated in his slow, steady voice. "'He told me that he doesn't trust banks to do his work for him. He keeps all his important papers and money in a safe. The safe is hidden in a place in his house that only he knows about. The-'"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Nancy called out eagerly, stopping him suddenly. "Go back. Please read that part again."

"'The safe is hidden in his house where only he can find it.'" Peterson looked up at her, a knowing look in his eyes. "What is it, dear one? You see something in this text?"

"Yeah, Mr. Peterson, I do. I really do. Please, continue. I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Peterson read for another half hour, but there was nothing else about the safe. Swenson did, however, go on in great detail about his invention. The diary would be great proof to the fact that he was the true owner of the product and that Raybolt was an undeniable thief. Not that she knew of anyone who didn't already _know_ he was a thief.

Peterson finished the diary, handing it back to the excited girl with a smile.

"I know that you must have changed, Nancy, but I don't see," Peterson said. "Other than your appearance, you are still the same brilliant little girl I knew so long ago, begging Hannah for one of my fruit tarts."

"Oh, God, yes. I'd forgotten about those. Those were my favorites," Nancy said, licking her lips. "The boysenberry ones. Mmm."

"Come. I'll walk you down."

Nancy protested, but Peterson ignored her and walked into the now empty show with her. Karen smiled at the pair.

"Karen, dear, please box up some fruit tarts for Nancy. One of every flavor. And two of boysenberry, my girl," Peterson asked sweetly.

"No, I can't. Please, no," Nancy protested, but stood helpless as Karen did as she was told hurriedly and thrust the box into Nancy's arm before she could leave without it. She sighed and smiled. "Thank you. And thank you for all you've done today."

She kissed the old man's cheek and he patted her shoulder.

"Say hello to Hannah dear for me," he said and she promised to do so.

Nancy walked out of the bakery and raced home, eating one of the boysenberry tarts on the way. They were just as good as ever. She was excited to talk things through with her father tonight. This was evidence, hard evidence. No way they could hold Joe Swenson now. Nancy swung into her father's office building parking lot and headed up with the box of treats. She gave a tart to her father's secretary, then went into his office, offering him a tart as well.

"Oh my God, are those from Peterson's Bakery?" he asked, taking it greedily and biting into it without waiting for the reply. "Mmm. Jesus Christ. I forgot how great these are."

Nancy laughed. "I need to talk to you."

Carson licked the sugar from his fingers. "I need to go in like five minutes. Shoot, kiddo."

Nancy summed up what she had learned at Mr. Peterson's and her father listened attentively. He agreed that Swenson would have a good case with his diary as evidence against Raybolt.

"So, when can we get him out of jail?" Nancy asked.

Carson sighed and made a face. "Well…"

"You just said he has a good case."

"Yeah, against the robbery of his invention, but that won't be able to get him off the hook for the disappearance of Raybolt and for the fire."

"But he didn't do it!" Nancy yelled, frustrated and angry.

"I know that, Nancy. Don't you think I know? But, what can I do? I can't so anything! Mrs. Raybolt screwed him over and there's nothing I can do about it."

"She lied! She lied! She came into the room and totally lied!"

"You can't prove that," Mr. Drew said, shaking his head.

"I saw her, dad! She looked at him and she didn't even know who he was. She'd never seen him before in her life!" Nancy argued. "She didn't know him!"

"That might be true, but I can't take that into court and tell them that because you say she's lying, she lying. It's your word against hers and you know what? If I put her on the stand, she'll do more harm than good because the jury will feel sorry for the poor crying widow who lost her house. The only way to get Swenson out is if you bring me Felix Raybolt in the flesh. Once I have him here, I'll get him out."

Nancy fell into a boiling rage at the injustice of it all. "Stupid bitch."

"What?" Carson snapped, looking at his daughter sternly.

"Yeah, dad, that Raybolt woman is a stupid bitch."

Carson sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Look, I've got to go."

"Okay, sorry I was yelling."

Carson kissed his daughter's hair. "Okay. See you at home. And stop saying 'bitch.'"

Nancy laughed and drove home. Hannah was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. She got Nancy a mug and Nancy told her of everything that had happened so far. Hannah sighed, gave her some encouraging words and they sat in silence for a minute.

"Holy crap! I've got it!" Nancy yelled suddenly.

"You've got what?" Hannah asked, a little startled.

"I know how to get Felix Raybolt!"


	21. Chapter 21

DISCLAIMER: Still not mine. Still wishing it was.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it took so long. Complications at work. Thanks! Read and review please.

Chapter 21

"How? When?" Hannah asked, surprised by the reply.

The strawberry blond gave an ecstatic grin. "Tonight, Hannah, tonight. I know how to get him. Oh, I know how to get that stupid crook!"

"Well, spit it out," the housekeeper said.

"You see, it just clicked. There have been guards at the Raybolt estate at night keep watch over the crime scene. The fire inspectors have been investigating the ruins. Today they were supposedly finished so they won't need the guards anymore. Don't you get it? A criminal always returns to the scene of the crime and Raybolt has an extra special reason for doing this."

"The papers that Joe Swenson mentioned in his diary?" Hannah asked, catching on. "Yes, of course. He'd have to come and get them. That would be a pile of evidence against him."

"Exactly! I have a feeling that he's been waiting for this. He _has_ to be coming tonight to get those papers. And there's only one place that the safe could be. Swenson said that he had a cellar. The only place they could be hidden is in the stone walls of that cellar. I have to catch him! I'll go with Bess and George and have a stake out."

Hannah gave her a disapproving look. She was worried, obviously. "That sounds pretty dangerous. I don't like it. Can't you take some more… muscle with you? A man?"

Nancy though for a second. "Well, dad isn't coming home until late. I can call Ned. I already kind of told him I'd probably need him tonight."

"Yeah. Call Ned. Get him to go with you. Please," Hannah said with a sigh. "When you and George get together you seem to think that you are invincible."

Nancy made a face and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Ned's number, but his machine came out. She left a message and hung up, staring at the phone a little disappointed.

"Hmm. That's odd. He usually has it on and I did tell him… Whatever. Anyway, on the way up, I'll call again or pass by or something. Don't worry Hannah. George is the judo master, remember?"

"Sure. Judo master. Right. She can certainly whip a person with her words, but I'm not so sure. She's pretty small, you know."

"She's tougher than she looks, Hannah, and you know it."

Hannah simply snorted. "Just, be careful, okay? And, if at all possible, get Ned to go with you. So he can… cradle you in his big strong football player arms!"

"Hannah!" Nancy exclaimed, moving to playfully shove the housekeeper as she fled. "Shut up, okay? All of you are so annoying."

But Hannah was busy making kissy-noises out in the hallway. Nancy rolled her eyes and called the cousins to tell them of the plan. George picked up on the first ring.

"What up, dude," she answered.

"George! I need you tonight."

"All right. So, I'll crawl in through your window again?"

"Shut up, you tard, and listen to me. I know how to catch Felix Raybolt." That got George's attention and Nancy outlined her plan. "So dress for some dirty work, okay?"

"You know how I love to get dirty. Okay, see you later. Tell Bess not to be a pussy."

Nancy laughed and hung up the phone. She called Bess next, leaving out what George said about being a pussy and coaxed her into a sense of security. Bess hesitantly agreed, but she didn't like the idea of being out at some spooky ruins at midnight waiting for a ruthless crook. Nancy tried Ned again, but got his machine right away.

Nancy met the two cousins up at Bess's house. They piled into George's jeep, the best equipped car for the job, and set off to Mapleton. Bess looked out the window up at the sky.

"It's going to be really dark tonight. The Weather Channel said there'd be no moon," Bess said, anxiety present in her voice.

"What did I tell you about being a pussy?" George threatened.

"Shut up, ass-head."

Nancy changed the subject, stemming the fight. "It's better that there's no moon. No one will be able to see us from the road."

"Yeah and we won't be able to see anyone either."

"Don't worry, Bess. Besides, we have flashlights."

Nancy directed George towards Ned's house to see if he was home, but he wasn't. None of the family was, in fact. Nancy puckered her brow in worry, but pushed it aside. She wrote a note and taped it to his door so that he'd find it when he got there. She got back into the car with her friends and they drove to the Raybolt estate. George drove past the actual house and hid her car in a thickest of trees, unnoticed. They got off the car and quietly started up the driveway, shovels and picks in hand.

The burnt ruins lay before them and the three girls paused, standing side by side, staring at them. Even George was silent, trying to push down the feeling of discomfort as she realized that it would very soon be dark. The house was unpleasantly lonely, unsettlingly abandoned. It had a couple of beams still standing, charred and splintered, but most of the house lay in a charred, ashen heap.

"You know, it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so freaking far back," Bess said in a nervous whisper. "There are, like, no other houses close by. I have this really bad feeling that something horrible is going to happen."

"Nothing's going to happen," George said, swinging her shovel over her shoulder and walking towards the ruins with authority.

Nancy and Bess followed her. They started walking over the crumbling remains of the burnt house, turning their flashlights on as the sun disappeared under the horizon. Nancy tried to pinpoint where the cellar was and found shattered pieces of stone. She signaled to the spot. They weren't interrupted, but they were still jumpy. Bess paused for a second and wiped her brow, glancing around her nervously.

"This is a lot creepier than I thought," she stated and not even George retorted. "Can we do whatever it is we're going to do and get the hell out of here already?"

"You girls take turns with the pick," Nancy grunted, getting a shovelful of debris and tossing it aside. "We have to get under all this."

"What, uh, exactly are we looking for?" George asked, pulling on a heavy piece of stone with all her force.

"We're looking for a secret hiding place."

"You know, now is not the time to play hide-and-seek."

"Stupid," Bess muttered.

"I mean, we're looking for Raybolt's safe. I want those papers. I want them," Nancy said, grimacing as she threw another shovelful of debris back behind her.

"'You can't always get what you want,'" George began singing in a panting, labored voice doing The Rolling Stone no justice. "'You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you just might find…' you get with a Ned!"

"Dick," Nancy muttered, not able to control her laughter as the cousins broke out into cackles, high-fiving each other.

The worked for a good hour, silent and concentrated, but little by little, they tired. They were sweating and panting hard. Bess finally stopped, leaning on the end of the pick heavily.

"God, please, can we stop for a while?" Bess pleaded.

The others complied, wiping their dirty, sweaty brows.

"What time is it? Midnight?" George asked.

"It's not even ten yet," Nancy said, giving her friend a look and a shake of the head.

"Well, if Raybolt was coming, he'd have been here by now, right? So, let's go already," Bess whined unhappily. "My back is killing me and I think my bones are about to shatter into a fine dust. Jesus."

"Just a little longer. Why don't we stake out, then? We'll stop digging, but I don't want to miss catching Raybolt because of this. Come on, please Bess? Please, please, please?"

Bess rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But no more digging, you promise?"

"Cross my heart," Nancy promised. "Hope to die."

"Aw, poor Ned," George said with a pout.

Nancy shoved her friend and led them to the bushes around the estate where they could get a good view, but not be seen. They sat and waited… and waited… and waited some more. Nancy was still alert, watching the scene. They were no longer excited, just tired from digging after an adventure that had lost its appeal. George lay down on her back on the grass, hands behind her head and in a little while she was breathing deeply. Bess had curled up as well, also asleep.

It seemed like two seconds later when the girls were startled awake by a scream. They bolted up, adrenaline running through their paralyzed, frightened bodies.

"Nancy?" George called out. "What the hell is going on?"

There was no answer.

"Nancy?" Bess repeated, on a more frantic note, squeezing her cousin's arm.

Still, Nancy didn't answer and it was then that they noticed why. Nancy didn't answer because Nancy wasn't there. There was another shrill scream that brought the cousins to their feet, eyes wide, trying to get used to the dark that enveloped them.

"Nancy!" George yelled, jumping out from the bushes, half blind. Bess followed.

The girls stood, angry and afraid. Where the hell was Nancy? Who was screaming? And, more importantly, much more urgently… who was running up the Raybolt driveway towards them?


	22. Chapter 22

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nancy Drew.

Chapter 22

Nancy had been sitting there in the middle of the bushes, cramped and now cold, wondering if she had been stupid to come all this way. She was thinking through the mystery, to pumped to sleep like her friends. She sighed, resting her chin on her hands, knees curled up to her chest. She suddenly sat up, rigid and alert as she head the faint sound of footsteps on the gravel. She moved stealthily to peek out of the bushes.

Whoever it was, it was a man. Either that or a freakishly large woman who had to have been an Olympic gold medalist. She turned to wake up George and Bess and stopped. If she shook them, they might say something or make some kind of noise that would alert the person, whoever he was. And the problem was, she didn't know if it was a police officer, a nosy neighbor, Ned coming to meet them, or Raybolt himself. She watched the man as he walked up to the large lawn. He turned towards the ruined house and out of sight.

Nancy made a quick decision and crept out from her hiding spot. She silently stepped on the grass, following the shadowy figure carefully. He stepped onto the ruins, walked over to the stones that had once been the cellar and then pulled a flashlight from his pocket and shone it.

It flashed briefly across his face, but just long enough to see that it wasn't a policeman and no way in hell that it was Ned. Her father had shown her a picture of him before and she knew at once that the tall, lean figure was Felix Raybolt. Anger bubbled up from within her, knowing that this was the guy that had caused the Swenson family all the trouble that had come their way. But Nancy was smart and she waited, doing a slow boil, as the man made his next move.

It was then that she noticed that Raybolt had a shovel in his hand. He grunted as she began digging through the ruins a couple of yard away from where she and her friends had been looking. Nancy watched eagerly as he tossed aside the shovel and bent, throwing a beam of light across a metal door. He swung the door open after a second and reached in for something. He emerged from the safe with a thick stack of papers in his hand.

Yes! Nancy thought. Finally, hardcore evidence that would prove that Raybolt was a thief. Now she could get Joe Swenson out of jail, she could finally see the poor Swedish family together and happy. Her father would make the court case and he would win, no doubt about it.

Nancy's mental celebration was cut short, her face contorting into a horrified, awful expression as she continued to watch Raybolt. He threw the thick stack of papers to the ground with a dull thud and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a matchbook, lit one and let it drop to the pile. He was going to burn it!

"No!" Nancy yelled suddenly, leaping out of the darkness and stomping the small flame out before it could do too much damage. "You can't do that!"

Raybolt rocked backward, obviously stunned. He stared, wide-eyed and confused at the girl who now turned on him.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked. "Why did you hide, Raybolt?"

Raybolt recovered quickly from the badgering and stepped back. "Nosy little bitch," he snarled and turned. "Mind your own Goddamned business, you hear?"

And with that he turned and fled. Nancy gave chase, tripping over some stones and then heading off after the man.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. "I should've waken George and Bess. Well, at least George."

She thought hard, trying to find a way to catch the man. She couldn't just let this crook get away, not now when she was so close to victory. But she couldn't do it alone. She needed help. And all her help was either not at home or asleep. She had one last desperate hope.

"HELP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, screaming with all her might. She hoped she'd wake the cousins.

George and Bess had just sprung from the bushes when she cried out again.

"Nancy!" Bess called out, afraid and on the verge of hysterics.

"Who is that?" George snapped, looking at the person coming up the path.

They realized then that it wasn't one person, it was two. Bess fumbled with her flashlight for a minute and then turned the beam on the approaching shadows. They stopped short, shielding their eyes from the blinding light.

"Bess, turn it off. We can't see!"

"Mr. Drew!" she breathed in relief. "And Ned."

"Where's Nancy?" Ned asked, getting to the point.

"We don't know. We fell asleep and when we woke up she was gone. I think that's her screaming," George explained, features drawn and worried.

"Come on," Mr. Drew said, then stopped as the sound of running footsteps came towards them.

They turned towards the sound, confused and scared. Bess brought her flashlight up again and the man running at them shielded his eyes but didn't stop. He pushed through them.

"That's Raybolt!" Carson exclaimed.

Nancy appeared a few seconds later, gasping. "Get him."

Ned had already dashed after the man, following and gaining quickly. He tackled Raybolt to the ground and gripped him tightly. After a short struggle, Raybolt went with his towards the group. Carson Drew shook his head and looked at the conman.

"Stupid move, Raybolt," he said.

"Eat me, Drew," Raybolt spat. "You and you're freaking crew of gangsters. I can sue, you know."

"You could, but he'd have to come out in public openly and you don't want that. My daughter found that out."

"Daughter, huh? Just as nosy as you, I'll bet."

"You already met her. This is Nancy."

Raybolt glared at Nancy and his lips pulled back angrily. "You."

He moved to lunge at the girl. Nancy stepped back, scared. But Ned was so much quicker. He grabbed Raybolt in an iron grip and yanked him back, holding him painfully in place, the man's face contorting into one of agony. Ned glared down at him, pissed.

"You touch her and I'll rip you apart," he snarled angrily in a low, menacing voice that told Raybolt that the boy meant what he said. He pulled down on Raybolt's arm harder, causing more pain. "Got me?"

"Come on, let's go," Mr. Drew said, leading the way to the cars.

"Where are we going?" Raybolt panted.

"Headquarters."

"I didn't do anything."

"Maybe not," Mr. Drew snorted, obviously unconvinced. "But there's a man who you are going to clear. The name Joe Swenson mean anything to you?"

"Swenson is still-" Raybolt started and caught himself. But he became much calmer, drawn and pale.

Ned and Mr. Drew piled into Carson's car with Raybolt. George drove Ned's mustang and Nancy and Bess followed last. Mr. Drew got down with Raybolt first, the latter calm now. Ned waited for Nancy and walked beside her. He was giving her a disapproving look.

"What?" she asked, a little sad and ashamed.

"You should've waited for me," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah?" Nancy asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Where were you anyway, Mr. I'll-have-my-cell-phone-on?"

Ned grinned sheepishly. "My phone ran out of battery and I didn't notice until later. I heard your message late and I called your father. We met at the Raybolt estate and the rest is history. I kind of spent the day with Burt and Dave. We went… well, we were hanging out."

"You went…?" Nancy prodded, interested by his aversion to the subject.

"Hey look, they're taking Raybolt in for questioning. Do your detective-y stuff and whatever. Go," Ned said, pushing her forward.

At first, Raybolt didn't look that flustered. His wife was called down to the station and they waited for her to come down before beginning. Officers Davil and Rock came forward to handle the case, along with Captain Johnson. Johnson nodded his head at Mr. Drew.

"It's your case, Drew," he said.

Carson nodded. "Go ahead."

Raybolt sighed and leaned back in his chair, dirty and disheveled. "Okay, I had a meeting with Swenson the day of the explosion, you all know that I assume. That's why I'm down here. I wasn't in the house, though."

"But you did have some illegal explosives in the cellar, didn't you?" Nancy asked, stepping forward.

Raybolt was surprised by the question, but he sighed meekly. "Yeah, I did. The explosion was an accident. Set off by some electronic wave I guess."

Just then Mrs. Raybolt came in and made a show of hugging and kissing her husband, who didn't look too thrilled about it, but didn't, for his own sake, push her away. When the officers had calmed her down, the questioning continued. Raybolt was asked about his vanishing act, and he gave an evasive answer stating that he'd been stunned, shocked and he drifted off into the woods behind the house.

"Convenient," Mr. Drew said, looking down at the man. "So you just stayed lost, huh? You carry heavy, heavy life and fire insurance, don't you?"

"Heavy," George added from the background.

"You figured you'd just bail out, have your lovely wife here collect and meet you in a brand new place to start a brand new life?"

Mrs. Raybolt started to say something, but her husband cut her off with a wave of his hand. His cheek had reddened with a telltale flush, but the man said nothing at all. Everyone knew he was guilty and that Mr. Drew had hit a bulls-eye with his question. Raybolt was disliked, more than that he was despised. The man probably lived in a constant state of fear that one of his disgruntled ex-clients would come pounding on his door and beat the crap out of him.

Johnson sighed. "Well, if that's it, I guess we can't really hold him. This proves that Swenson is innocent enough. We apologize for having held him, but you have to admit that it pointed his way."

Rock went to go release the man and when he found out he was free, tears came to the Swedish inventor's eyes. He thanked the Drew's and their friends vehemently.

"So, you're just letting them go?' George asked, nodding towards the Raybolt couple. "After everything they've done?"

"We don't have any evidence to hold him," Davil said, obviously disappointed.

"Maybe not," Nancy said, "but I do."

Everyone in the room looked at her with different expressions, her friends waiting, the police surprised, and the Raybolt's with burning hatred. She reached into her oversized bag and carefully brought forth a stack of worn papers, the top few a bit burned.

"These were in Raybolt's safe at the ruins. He was trying to burn them. I figure if he wanted them gone so badly, they had to have been really important."

She handed them to the police chief. Raybolt had gone white, staring in disgust and shock at the papers. Johnson glanced over them, not understanding what they were. He held them out to Carson.

"It's all a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo. Read them through and if there's anything worthwhile-"

"NO!" Raybolt yelled suddenly, jerking forward and grabbing the papers before Mr. Drew could get them. He looked wild, crazed and desperate. "Wait, hold on. Just… hold on!"

The room was silent, staring at him and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Wait, I can… look, I'll confess, okay?"

"Felix, no!" Mrs. Raybolt cried out suddenly. "Shut up, you stupid bastard. Shut up! You'll ruin us!"

"Shut you trap, woman," Raybolt snapped at his wife. "What the hell do you know? Nothing, so butt out of my business! If I don't tell them, _I'm_ ruined. I'll be thrown in jail so fast my head will spin and I ain't doing that. Not for you, not for nobody." He paused and then looked up at Mr. Drew and the police officers in the room. "I admit it, all right? I cheated every single one of my customers. I promised them big sums and then stole their ideas, paying them a minimum balance for it. I'll make good on it, I swear. I'll write each and every single client a check for the total amount. I'll pay it all back if it takes every dime I have, I swear. I'll sign a contract stating the fact, I'll record a video announcement, whatever I have to do. Please, just… I promise."

"No!" Mrs. Raybolt wailed, crying. "Felix, you goddamned, selfish son of a bitch. You son of a bitch! My money!"

"_My_ money! And I'll use it how I need to if it means saving my ass!"

The officers looked to Mr. Drew.

"Like I said, Drew. It's your client. Your case," Johnson repeated, shrugging.

"I'll write up the contract first thing tomorrow morning. Hold him until then," Carson replied stonily.

"Bastard!" Mrs. Raybolt screeched, flaring violently. The she sank into her chair again and sobbed into her hands. "We had it so planned. So perfectly planned. Then you, little Miss Detective Nancy Drew, comes along a ruins EVERYTHING!"

"Are you admitting to having plotted the explosion?" Rock asked, leaning forward interestedly.

"Shut your mouth, wench!" Raybolt yelled.

The girls and Ned stared in shocked silence as the detectives did their work. The damage was done. Little by little a full confession was given and taped. Raybolt admitted to having rigged a TV to set off the explosions by remote at the time that Swenson was supposed to show up. He was supposed to be framed. But Swenson had shown up half an hour early and Raybolt never had a chance to get the papers from the safe. He'd had to blow up the house and disappear, coming back for the papers later. Mrs. Raybolt was responsible for having put the police out for Swenson, trying to pin him for the house. She was going to collect the insurance money and meet up with her husband in Europe. Raybolt made a check to Swenson for the full amount right then and there.

Nancy glared at the two of them in disgust as they were led away to be held. All that conniving and planning at the expense of others. Everyone went home, tired and mentally exhausted. Two days later, the Swenson's invited the Drews, Bess and George, and Ned over to have a celebration dinner at their house. The atmosphere was happy, the family finally past all the obstacles that had hampered them for so long. They thanked all the young people over and over again.

"We wanted to thank you in a bigger way, though," Helen Swenson said, presenting each of the girls, Ned, and Mr. Drew with a wrapped gift.

After a couple of protests, they opened up the packages. The girls had beautiful, hand crafted purses and the men had received wallets. They fawned over them for a while, then sat down to eat.

"You know," Ned commented, "I've been thinking that it was actually really lucky that you dropped your diary, Mr. Swenson, or else none of this would have been solved."

"Indeed," Swenson said with a smile. "You should start one too, Ned. You know, just in case."

Ned laughed. "I'd always thought my life was to boring to write down. That is until lately."

"Oh yeah?" George teased, giving him a knowing look. "Why is that?"

Ned shrugged, but under the table his had slid over Nancy's and she flushed, grinning down at her food like an idiot.

"You just never know what turns up."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: That's it! What did you guys think? Hope you enjoyed it. If you liked this one, please keep on the look out for my next one. I've decided that I'm also going to do the nest one "Nancy's Mysterious Letter." THANKS to all my loyal readers who review every time I updated. It means a lot to me.


End file.
